LIBRARY 

University  o<  California^ 

JRVINE 


OUR  FRENCH  ALLIES 


IN      THE 


EEYOLUTION 


AND    OTHER    ADDRESSES 


BY 


Al 

J.   cr'PUMPELLY, 


MORRISTOWN-  NEW  JERSEY. 


"  Here  let  there  be  what  the  earth  waits  for — exalted  manhood. 
What  America  longs  for  is  personalities — grand  persons  to  counter- 
act its  materialities.  For  it  is  the  rule  of  the  universe  that  corn 
shall  serve  man  and  not  man  corn." — Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  early  history  of  a  people  is  always  its  heroic  period. 

In  it  material  is  always  to  be  found  upon  which  patriotism  and 
loyalty  best  flourish. 

It  is  not  so  much  a  great  accumulation  of  historical  facts  that  we 
need  as  it  is  the  vivid  presentation  of  almost  any  incidents  which 
will  interest  us  in  and  acquaint  us  with  the  indomitable  spirit  of  '76. 

The  writer,  himself  an  enthusiastic  and  accurate  student  of  the 
heroic  period  in  American  history,  is  entitled  to  our  sincere  and 
appreciative  gratitude  for  refreshing  our  memories  in  so  attrac- 
tive a  way,  as  do  the  following  monograms,  of  the  great  deeds  and 
the  greater  men  that  underlie  the  splendid  achievements  of  these 
United  States. 

As  Secretary  of  the  New  Jersey  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revo- 
lution and  with  a  picturesque  style  in  composition  he  has  every 
equipment  for  selecting  and  publishing  salient  bits  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary days  well  adapted  to  teach  us  and  our  children  of  that 
great  love  of  human  liberty  which  lias  made  America,  the  world 
over,  a  synonym  for  human  progress.  "H." 

Morristown,  N.  J. 
Nov.  1889. 


ADD  R  ESS 

Delivered  at  a  meeting  of  the  Washington  Association, 
at  Morristown,  on  February  22,  1888, 

IJY   J.   C.    PUMPELLY. 


Mu.  PRESIDENT  AND  FELLOW  MEMBERS  OF  THE  WASHING- 
TON ASSOCIATION  :— 

On  December  30, 1799,  just  1C  days  after  the  death  of  the 
Father  of  his  Country,  Congress  by  Resolution  and  the 
President  by  Proclamation  designated  the  22d  of  February 
as  a  day  dedicated  to  his  memory,  and  thus  it  is  that  from 
the  land  of  granite  and  ice,  to  the  home  of  the  palmetto 
and  the  orange,  in  every  region  of  our  broad  country,  the 
heart  of  patriotism  warms  to-day  to  the  name  of  Washing- 
ton. 

With  this  feeling,  we,  too,  have  assembled  ourselves,  and 
standing  here  on  ground  sacred  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  and 
in  the  midst  of  mementoes  permeated  with  the  spirit  and 
wisdom  of  a  time  which  tried  men's  souls  we  would  pay  our 
tribute  of  honor  not  only  to  the  founder  of  a  nation,  but  to 
the  memory  of  those  of  our  own  blood  who  fought  and  suf- 
fered by  his  side. 


The  time  aud  place  are  both  replete  with  inspiring  influ- 
ences, and  by  their  aid  I  hope  to  be  able  to  give  you,  at  least 
an  outlined  picture  of  the  great  Chieftain  who,  on  that 
bleak  first  of  December,  1779,  entered  these  portals  as  the 
honored  guest  of  Mrs.  Theodosia  Ford. 

Speaking  of  Washington  as  a  strategist,  General  Car- 
rington,  in  his  address  before  the  New  Jersey  Historical 
Society,  says,  "The  term  retreat  is  a  misnomer  for  Wash- 
ington's march  to  the  Delaware.  It  was  not  a  retreat  but 
only  the  part  of  a  great  strategic  plan."  Remembering  the 
necessities  and  perils  of  the  situation  in  New  York,  and 
how  impossible  it  was  for  Washington  to  do  otherwise 
than  he  did,  I  cannot  go  thus  far,  but  one  thing  is  very 
sure,  from  the  time  the  war  took  definite  shape  until  the 
final  stroke  at  Yorktown,  Xew  Jersey  became  the  Head- 
quarters of  American  resistance — the  strategic  centre  and 
the  chief  battle  field  of  the  Re  volution. 

Ever  mindful  of  Howe's  true  policy  and  the  value  of  New 
York  to  the  British  Crown,  Washington  conceived  and 
wrought  out  a  counter  policy,  and  with  unexcelled  wisdom 
he  concentrated  all  the  possibilities  of  a  successful  resis- 
tance to  the  enemy  within  a  space  so  small,  yet  with  fast- 
nesses so  unassailable,  and  a  plan  of  observation  so  com- 
plete, that,  as  Botta  the  historian,  says:  "By  an  army  al- 
most reduced  to  extremity  Philadelphia  was  saved,  Pennsyl- 
vania protected,  New  Jersey  recovered,  and  a  victorious  army 
laid  under  the  necessity  of  quitting  all  thought  of  acting 
offensively  in  order  to  defend  itself." 


Such,  in  a  few  words,  was  Washington  as  a  strategist,  and 
it  is  the  pride  of  every  Jerseyman  that  here,  within  a  radius 
of  hardly  one  hundred  miles,  was  the  arena  upon  which 
were  enacted  the  events  which  were  to  change  the  whole 
future  of  a  nature.  "!No  nobler  figure,"  says  Gladstone, 
speaking  of  the  great  commander,  "ever  stood  in  the  fore- 
front.of  a  nation's  life,"  and  it  was  in  those  days  herein 
Morristown,  the  very  darkest  before  the  dawn,  when  the 
character  of  the  man  was  most  severely  tried  and  his  great 
attributes  as  a  leader  of  men  made  manifest. 

At  that  date  Washington  was  47  years  of  age,  in  stat- 
ure over  six  feet,  perfectly  erect,  of  marked  bearing  and 
nobility  of  presence,  and,  as  Jefferson  says, "  the  best  horse- 
man of  his  age."  His  eyes  were  gray,  his  hair  hazel-brown, 
his  complexion  light  and  his  countenance  severe  and 
thoughtful,  while  his  person  and  whole  deportment  exhib- 
ited an  unaffected  and  indescribable  dignity  unmiugled 
with  haughtiness,  of  which  all  who  approached  him  were 
sensible.  In  this  connection  Tlie  New  Jersey  Gazette  of 
Dec.  6th,  1779,  contains  the  following,  from  an  English  cor- 
respondent : — "  Washington  is  a  tall,  well  made  man, 
rather  large  boned,  with  features  manly  and  bold,  eyes  of 
a  bluish  cast  and  very  lively ;  hair  a  deep  brown,  face  long 
and  marked  with  smallpox  ;  complexion  sunburnt,  and  his 
countenance  sensible,  composed  and  thoughtful.  There  is 
a  remarkable  air  of  dignity  about  him,  with  a  striking  de- 
gree of  gracefulness.  Ho  has  an  excellent  understanding 
without  much  quickness;  is  strictly  just,  vigilant,  gen- 


8 

erous;  an  affectionate  husband,  a  faithful  friend,  a  father 
to  the  deserving  soldier,  gentle  in  his  manners,  but  rather 
reserved.  Is  a  total  stranger  to  religious  prejudices,  but 
in  his  morals  irreproachable  and  was  never  known  to  ex- 
ceed the  bounds  of  temperance.  Candor,  sincerity,  affabil- 
ity and  simplicity  seem  to  be  the  striking  features  of  his 
character,  until  an  occasion  otters  of  displaying  the  most 
determined  bravery  and  independence  of  spirit." 

In  his  moral  aspect  he  was  no  saint,  and  by  no  means, 
as  one  writer  puts  it,  "well  nigh  super-human."  For  while 
his  integrity  and  virtue  were  firmly  based  in  a  truly  relig- 
ious faith,  yet  he  was  a  man  of  very  strong  passions,  and 
as  Jefferson  says:  "showed  himself  on  several  occasions 
'tremendous  in  his  wrath.'" 

It  has  been  circumstantially  stated  that  when  the  militia, 
in  New  York,  in  the  Fall  of  '70  turned  and  ran,  and  again 
at  the  time  of  Lee's  disobedience  at  Monmouth,  Washing- 
ton was  transported  with  passion  and  swore  roundly. 
Possibly  he  did,  for  on  the  two  occasions  in  qu«stion,  he 
was  sorely  tried. 


9 

No  doubt  much  of  that  power  in  word  and  pen,  which 
inspired  those  about  him  to  endure,  and  to  do  as  they  did 
in  this  terrible  winter,  sprang'  from  his  passionate,  but  usual- 
ly subjugated  nature.  In  this  respect  he  resembles  most  of 
the  great  men  who  have  moved  and  controlled  their  fellow 
men  to  the  accomplishment  of  great  deeds. 

One  of  those  traits  of  character,  which  (next  to  unyield- 
ing firmness  and  a  freedom  from  jealousy  almost  unknown 
in  celebrated  captains)  peculiarly  distinguished  Washing- 
ton \\asiipunctHiou8  exactness  as  to  money  matters,  and  a  tine 
sense  of  justice,  where  not  alone  his  own  but  the  rights  of 
others  were  concerned. 

When  he  took  up  his  residence  in  this  house,  and  accep- 
ted the  freely  offered  hospitality  of  the  widow,  Theodosia 
Ford,  he  made  an  inventory  of  all  articles  which  were  ap- 
propriated to  his  use,  and  when  about  to  depart  in  June 
1780,  he  inquired  of  his  hostess  whether  everything  had 
been  returned  to  her.  Her  reply  was,  "  All  but  one  silver 
table-spoon."  The  General  made  due  note  of  the  loss,  and 
not  long  afterwards  she  received  from  him  a  note,  inclosing 
the  identical  spoon. 

Major  Gibbs  (the  same,  1  suppose,  who  was  in  command 
of  the  "Life  Guards")  was  caterer  to  the  General's  house- 
hold for  some  years,  and  in  Washington's  personal  book 
of  account  with  the  United  States  (a  fav  simile  of  which 
is  in  our  Morristown  Library)  occurs  the  following 
entry- 

"May  13th—  By  Cash  L.  113-10  s." 


10 

and  this  foot-note  :  "This  sum  stands  in  my  ac- 
count as  a  credit  to  the  public,  but  I  can  find  no  charge 
against  me  in  any  of  the  public  offices.  Where  the  mistake 
lies  I  know  not,  but  I  wish  it  could  be  ascertained,  as  F 
have  no  desire  to  injure  or  be  injured." 

Without  doubt  this  roof  has  sheltered  more  of  the  fam- 
ous men  of  the  Eevolntion  than  any  other  in  our  land. 
Generals,  Statesmen,  Foreign  Envoys  and  members  of  the 
Continental  Congress,  all  gathered  here  to  meet  the  great 
rebel  chief.  Of  thelatter's  own  band  of  co-patriots,  there 
was  the  requient  Quaker  but  valiant  General,  Nathaniel 
Greene ;  the  able  artillerist  Knox,  "Mad"  Anthony  Wayne 
the  hero  of  Stony  Point,  the  veteran  disciplinarian  Steu- 
beu,  the  polished  Kosciuszko,  the  brilliant  Alexander  Ham- 
ilton, the  accomplished  Stirling;  also  there  was  the  hero 
of  Bennington  John  Stark,  and  Washington's  Chief  of 
Engineers,  the  talented  Chevalier  Duportail — of  the  French 
Engineers — who  wras  made  a  Major  General  for  his  services 
at  the  Siege  of  Yorktown.  A  group  unparalleled  in  the 
world,  and  its  grand  central  figure  was  the  man,  the  anni- 
versary of  whose  birth,  we  are  here  to  commemorate  to-day. 

Prof.  Lieber  says  of  him  :  "He  appears  to  us  the  brave 
historic  model  of  immaculate  patriotism,  a  man  not  bril- 
liant, but  sound  to  the  inmost  recess  of  his  large  heart." 
As  an  instance  of  this  we  can  but  recall  the  brave  but 
kindly  words  in  which  Washington  reprimanded  the  traitor, 
Arnold,  whose  Court  Martial  here  at  the  Norris  Tavern, 
was  one  of  the  most  important  events  of  that  most  distress- 
ing winter. 


11 

"Never,"  says  one  writer,  "was  the  sword  of  justice 
more  delicately  tempered,  and  a  smoother  wound  given  to 
an  irritable  conscience,  than  when  wielded  by  the  hand  of 
the  Commander-in-chief  on  this  occasion." 

Washington  has  been  wrongfully  called  by  one  of  our 
late  writers  a  cold  and  austere  man.  Certainly  there  was 
a  certain  dignity  and  majesty  about  him,  which  did  not 
belong  ordinarily  to  men,  and  then,  too,  as  Professor  Lie- 
ber  says,  no  endearing  names  were  bestowed  upon  him  by 
his  soldiers ;  and  yet,  while  in  this  very  house,  so  intense 
was  his  anxiety  and  sympathy  for  the  sufferings  of  his 
brave  troops,  then  encamped  at  Kimble  Hill,  he  wrote  to 
President  Keed,  of  Pennsylvania,  entreating  aid  and  sup- 
plies to  keep  his  army  from  disbanding,  saying,  "We  have 
never  experienced  a  like  extremity  at  any  period  of  the 
war."  (Life  of  Eeed,  II.  189.)  Again  he  wrote,  on  Janu- 
ary 8th,  "The  troops,  both  officers  and  men,  have  been  al- 
most perishing  with  want,"  yet  feelingly  he  added,  "they 
have  borne  their  sufferings  with  a  patience  that  merits  the 
approbation  and  ought  to  excite  the  sympathies  of  their 
countrymen." 

To  Schuyler  he  wrote:  "Sometimes  the  army  has  been 
five  or  six  days  together  without  bread ;  at  other  times  as 
many  days  without  meat,  and  once  or  twice  two  or  three 
days  without  either.  I  hardly  thought  it  possible  at  one 
period  that  we  should  be  able  to  keep  the  army  together, 
nor  could  it  have*  been  done,  if  not  for  the  exertions  of  the 
magistrates  of  the  several  Counties  of  this  State,  on  whom 
I  was  obliged  to  call." 


12 

It  must  be  remembered  too,  that,  though  these  troops 
arrived  December  14th,  it  was  not  until  two  months  after- 
wards that  the  huts  were  completed,  so  that  they  could  be  in 
any  way  sheltered.  Of  the  money,  Marshall  in  Vol.  IV, 
of  his  Life  of  Washington,  says :  "The  pay  of  a  Major 
General  would  not  have  compensated  an  express  ri- 
der ;  that  of  a  Captain  would  not  have  furnished  the  shoes 
in  which  he  marched  to  lead  his  company  against  the 
enemy." 

It  is  needless  to  add  that  many  of  the  poor  soldiers  had 
neither  money  nor  shoes,  and  it  was  told  to  me  by  a  former 
employee  at  these  Headquarters,  that  Washington  once— 
so  Mrs.  Ford  informed  him — noticed  such  a  barefooted 
patriot  passing  the  house  and  immediately  went  to  his 
rooms  and  brought  out  a  pair  of  shoes,  having  an  excellent 
pair  of  buckles  on  them.  Noticing  these  last,  but  not  re- 
moving them,  he  gave  the  shoes  to  the  grateful  soldier  with 
the  one  injunction,  "Take  them,  my  man,  but  do  not  sell 
the  buckles  for  rum."  The  great  Commander's  unselfish 
thoughtful  ness  for  others  was  marked  by  many  incidents 
in  the  life  here  at  Headquarters,  as  his  sympathetic  care 
for  the  young  soldier  Ford  who  was  brought  home  wound- 
ed, and  the  careful  way  in  which  when  an  alarm  was 
sounded  and  the  Life  Guards  would  prepare  to  barricade 
the  house,  he  would  go  into  the  rooms  of  Lady  Washington 
and  Mrs.  Ford,  draw  closer  the  curtains  of  their  bed  and 
cheer  them  by  words  of  encouragement. 

Those  indeed  were  bitter  days,  and  yet  amid  them  all 


13 

the  great  Commander  never  lost  courage  or  faltered  in  bis 
faitb.  At  tbat  ink-stained  desk  in  the  office,  or  at  the  dis- 
patch table  in  the  parlor,  be  sat  and  penned  letters  of  ad- 
vice and  encouragement  to  a  hesitating  Congress,  and  to 
vacillating  Governors,  which  for  depth  of  judgment  and 
fervor  of  zeal  have  never  been  surpassed. 

And  so  it  was,  that  more  and  more  through  these  weeks 
of  cold,  fatigue,  distress  and  starvation,  the  men  be  led 
learned  bow  wholly  his  heart  was  with  them,  and  in  return 
gave  him  their  devoted  service.  They  knew  that  whatever 
else  might  freeze,  there  was  nothing  cold  about  their  dig- 
nified and  stately,  but  slightly  excitable  General.  And, 
so  firm  was  his  nature,  intrigues  could  not  destroy  him, 
and  every  assailing  force  would  shatter  like  earthen- 
ware as  soon  as  it  came  into  collision  with  the  solid  fabric 
of  his  character. 

The  most  interesting  evidence  of  this  dignity  of  charac- 
ter is  probably  found  in  the  letters  of  those  French  officers 
(to  whom  we  owe  so  much)  and  the  reports  of  the  French 
Diplomats.  All  of  which  go  to  show  that  he  was  really 
more  than  a  soldier,  more  than  an  ordinary  man;  also,  that 
there  was  a  certain  majesty  and  power  in  his  nature,  which 
in  God's  providence  assured  the  success  of  the  Government 
from  the  moment  he  took  it  in  hand.  But  this  assurance 
might  have  been  barren  indeed,  if  it  had  not  been  for  those 
indefatigable  French  Allies,  among  whom  especially  to  be 
remembered  is  Vice- Admiral  Comte  d'  Estaing,  who  at  the 
close  of  the  Revolution  commanded  the  combined  land  and 


14 

naval  forces  of  France  and  Spain,  and  so  threatened  the 
safety  of  the  West  Indies,  that  George  III  and  Lord  North 
were  constrained  to  acknowledge  our  independence. 

Like  Lafayette,  d'  Estaing  recognized  that  Washington 
was  at  all  times  planning  for  the  ultimate  founding  and 
creating,  out  of  the  thirteen  disjointed  Colonies,  a  nation 
which  should  hold  in  its  hands  the  destiny  of  a  great  peo- 
ple, if  not  the  destiny  of  the  whole  world.  It  is  in  this  light 
I  would  have  Washington  always  appear  in  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  every  youth  in  this  country;  and  to  this  end  I 
would  have  every  school  in  the  land  so  thoroughly  Ameri- 
canized that  each  one  would  become  a  nursery  of  patriot- 
ism, and  thus  aid  in  eliminating  from  our  midst  those  pes- 
tiferous ideas  which  have  become  so  freely  imported  from 
the  beer  cellars  and  socialistic  conclaves  of  Europe. 

But  so  far  the  picture  I  have  tried  to  outline  for  you  has 
been  unrelieved  by  one  single  humorous  incident ;  and  yet 
there  were  lights,  as  well  as  shadows,  in  the  life  those  heroes 
led  here  amid  the  snow  clad  hills  of  Morris.  Would  that  wo 
could  in  imagination  look  in  upon  the  group  of  officers,  as 
they  gathered  about  their  Chief,  at  "Orderly  Hours"  in  the 
old  log  cabin  headquarters,  or  sat  around  that  old  table  in 
the  dining-room.  Possibly  the  following  letter  written 
about  that  time  to  "Smythe's  Journal,"  in  New  York,  may 
help  to  lighten  somewhat  the  sombreness  of  the  scene  :-- 

"  Thirteen  is  a  number  peculiarly  belonging  to  the  rebels. 
A  party  of  naval  prisoners,  lately  returned  from  Jersey, 
say  'That  the  rations  among  the  rebels  are  thirteen  dried 


15 

clams  per  day ;  that  the  titular  Lord  Stirling  takes  thirteen 
glasses  of  grog  every  morning,  has  thirteen  enormous  ruin- 
bunches  on  his  nose,  and  that  (when  duly  impregnated)  he 
always  makes  thirteen  attempts  before  he  can  walk;  that 
Mr.  Washington  has  thirteen  toes  on  his  feet  (the  extra  ones 
having  grown  since  the  Declaration  of  Independence,)  and 
the  same  number  of  teeth  in  each  jaw;  that  the  Sachem 
Scuyler  has  a  top-knot  of  thirteen  stiff  hairs,  which  erect 
themselves  on  the  crown  of  his  head  when  he  grows  mad ; 
that  old  Putnam  had  thirteen  pounds  of  his  posteriors  bit 
off  in  an  encounter  with  a  Connecticut  bear  ('twas  then 
he  lost  the  balance  of  his  mind;)  that  it  takes  thirteen 
Congress  paper  dollars  to  equal  one  penny  sterling ;  that 
Polly  Wayne  was  just  thirteen  hours  in  subduing  Stony 
Point,  and  as  many  seconds  in  leaving  it ;  that  a  well  or- 
ganized rebel  household  has  thirteen  children,  all  of  whom 
expect  to  be  Generals  and  members  of  the  High  and  Mighty 
Congress  of  the  '  Thirteen  United  States,'  when  they  attain 
thirteen  years ;  that  Mrs.  Washington  has  a  mottled  Tom 
cat  (which  she  calls  in  a  complimentary  way  '  Hamilton') 
with  thirteen  yellow  rings  around  his  tail,  and  that  his 
flaunting  it  suggested  to  the  Congress  the  adopting  of  the 
same  number  of  stripes  for  the  rebel  flag.' " 

But  my  discourse,  all  insufficient  as  it  is,  has  already 
been  protracted  unduly  and  I  must  close. 

Among  all  the  conspicuous  names  which  will  be  honored 
to-day  let  us  remember  with  tender  gratitude  that  (and  I  use 
the  words  of  our  favorite  historian,  President  Tuttle,)  each 


16 

old  parish  in  our  County  has  its  heroes,  and  each  old  church 
was  a  shrine  at  which  brave  men  and  women  bowed  in 
God's  fear,  consecrating  their  all  to  their  country." 

So,  instead  of  referring  our  children  to  Greek  and  Eo- 
man  patriots,  we  have  but  to  call  up  for  them  the  names 
of  our  own  men  and  woman,  who  have  here  amid  the  hills 
of  Morris  wrought  out  for  us  this  heritage,  so  much  grander, 
so  much  nobler  than  they  themselves  ever  dreamed. 
And  whatever  betide  and  in  every  peril  let  us  remember 
Washington. 

"  Let  his  great  example  stand  colossal  seen  of  every 

land, 

And  keep  the  soldier  firm,  the  statesman  pure  ; 
Till  in  all  lands  and  through  all  human  story 
The  path  of  Duty  be  the  way  to  Glory." 

Washington's  Headquarters, 
Morristowu,  Feb,  22nd,  1888. 


Our  French  Allies  in  the  Revolution. 


BY 

J.  C.   PUMPELLY. 


Read  before  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  at  Trenton, 
January  22,  1889. 


"1  am  proud  of  France,"  wrote  Pere  Hyacinthe  to  an 
American  clergyman;  "I  am  proud  of  France,  but  I  deem 
it  as  one  of  her  most  solid  glories  to  have  contributed  to  the 
independence  of  your  noble  country." 

This  eloquent  utterance  voices  the  sentiment  which 
Frenchman  generally  have  entertained  toward  the  United 
States.  The  love  of  freedom  glowed  alike  in  the  heart  of 
both  peoples  from  the  time  of  the  first  resistance  in  America 
to  the  tyrannous  impositions  of  Great  Britain.  Indeed, 
the  time  was  ripe  for  them  to  fraternize.  But  three  days 
before  the  British  troops  had  entered  Boston  to  suppress 
the  kindling  spirit  of  liberty,  the  death  of  an  unworthy 
king  and  the  succession  of  another  more  excellent  and  de- 
serving had  given  heart  to  the  friends  of  freedom  in  France 
arid  delivered  their  country  from  impending  ruin. 

17  2 


18 

The  writings  of  French  litterateurs  had  been  preparing  the 
public  mind  for  a  new  departure  in  religious,  social  and  gov- 
ernmental affairs.  The  men  and  women  of  culture  and  re- 
finement were  eagerly  contemplating  the  advent  of  a  period 
when  the  hoary  despotism  of  the  Middle  Ages  should  pass 
away,  and  be  succeeded  by  the  dawn  and  noonday  of  civil 
and  spiritual  freedom  for  mankind.  Such  men  as  our  be- 
loved Marquis  de  La  Fayette  had  caught  the  inspiration 
and  were  prompt  to  contribute  both  wealth  and  influence, 
and  to  unsheath  their  swords  to  help  bring  forward  the 
coming  epoch.  To  them  the  first  clash  of  arms  in  New 
England  was  the  signal  for  action,  and  they  hastened  to 
give  their  aid  and  personal  service.  Others  more  reflective 
and  conscious  of  responsibility  directed  their  endeavors 
toward  the  iuipelling  of  a  reluctant  government  to  take  part 
in  the  great  conflict,  and  co-operate  with  the  Americans  in 
their  unequal  struggle.  The  new  theories  which  the  sa- 
vants and  publicists  of  France  had  inculcated,  thus  brought 
forth  their  fruit,  thirty,  sixty,  and  an  hundred  fold.  These 
men  indeed  built  wiser  than  they  knew. 

The  good  understanding  between  France  and  America 
has  ever  since  been  regarded  by  far-seeing  minds  as  of  vital 
importance  to  both  countries.  Edmond  About,  in  his 
passionate  arraignment  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III, 
breaks  out  into  the  following  invective:  "The  great  Amer- 
ican Kepublic  was  from  the  beginning  the  friend  and  ally  of 
France.  You  constrained  it  to  forget  that  it  owes  its 
existence  to  France." 


19 

In  this  declaration  we  have  the  exact  statement  of  the 
sentiment  which  prevails  among  leading  minds  in  that 
country.  They  are  vividly  awake  to  the  urgent  necessity 
of  the  most  cordial  relations  between  the  two  peoples,  a 
sentiment  which  we  should  most  fully  reciprocate.  At  the 
same  time  our  excellent  friends  do  not  hesitate  to  remind 
us  very  significantly  of  our  indebtedness  to  them  in  the 
struggle  for  national  independence.  They  love  to  echo  the 
sentiment  of  Minister  Genet  to  Secretary  Jefferson:  "But 
for  France,  Americans  would  now  be  vassals  to  England." 

We  may  plead  in  extenuation  of  this  claim,  that  France 
had  already  shown  herself  unable  to  cope  with  Great  Britain 
and  her  colonies  upon  this  Continent.  In  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  which  was  ended  with  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  in  1763, 
she  had  been  shorn  of  her  vast  possessions  in  Asia  and 
America,  and  obliged  to  raze  her  fortifications  at  Dunkirk 
and  submit  to  the  indignity  of  a  resident  English  Commis- 
sioner at  that  place,  whose  word  was  law.  We  may  readily 
presume  that  her  statesmen  deeply  resented  these  humili- 
ations, and  were  on  the  alert  to  foster  any  movement  that 
would  assure  revenge  upon  their  triumphant  adversary. 

It  is  certain  that  Baron  JohnDe  Kalb  traveled  extensively 
in  the  British  Colonies  during  the  interval  between  the 
Treaty  of  Paris  and  the  outbreak  of  the  American  Eevolu- 
tiou.  He  made  himself  familiar  with  the  prevailing  public 
sentiment,  and  kept  the  French  Ministry  appraised  of  his  f 
observations.  A  change  of  Ministers  for  a  time  suspended 
his  correspondence ;  but  we  may  be  confident  that  France, 


20 

finding  herself  unable  to  maintain  her  foot-hold  upon  this 
Continent,  was  watching  her  opportunity  to  uproot  the 
British  Dominion  in  her  turn.  The  irritation  in  the 
Colonies  at  the  prohibition  of  the  trade  with  European  coun- 
tries and  the  West  Indies,  and  the  arbitrary  suppression  of 
manufacturing  industries,  was  now  brought  to  a  crisis  by 
direct  taxation  and  the  introduction  of  soldiery  into  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts. 

Turgot,  perhaps  one  of  the  most  far-seeing  of  the  French 
statesmen,  and  very  similar  in  character  to  our  own  Wash- 
ington, was  awake  to  the  portents  of  the  time.  As  early 
as  April,  1776,  he  predicted  to  the  Ministers  of  the  French 
King  the  issue  of  the  American  conflict.  "The  supposi- 
tion of  an  absolute  separation  between  Great  Britain  and 
her  colonies,"  he  declared,  "seems  to  me  infinitely  probable, 
and  the  result  of  the  conflict  will  be  a  total  revolution  be- 
tween Europe  and  America  in  political  and  commercial 
relations.  There  is  no  rainedy  but  submission  to  the  inev- 
itable, and  obstinate  resistance  will  involve  great  peril  to 
the  mother  country."  (Schranler,  Life  and  Times  of  Wash- 
ington, Volume  I,  p.  G8G.) 

Many  other  distinguished  Frenchmen  believed  as  Turgot. 
Some  of  these,  sympathizing  enthusiastically  with  the  colo- 
nists, and  acting  under  the  counsel  of  Count  Vergennes, 
secretly  furnished  them  with  large  amounts  of  arms  and 
ammunition.  This  was  done  without  any  official  sanction 
or  approval  of  the  Government,  which  ostensibly  took  the 
side  of  Great  Britain.  The  Spanish  Court,  also,  through 


the  mercantile  house  of  Koderique  Hostages  and  Co.,  ad- 
vanced a  million  livres  ($185,000)  and  the  French  Court  an 
equal  sum,  a  loan  to  be  paid  in  American  products.  In 
connection  with  these  movements  took  place  the  deception 
of  Arthur  Lee,  which  put  our  government  decidedly  in  the 
wrong  and  led  to  a  controversy  and  litigation  of  fifty  years. 
La  Fayette  himself,  always  foremost  in  promptness,  raised 
a  force  of  two  thousand  men,  equipping  and  disciplining 
them  and  expending  more  than  $100,000  of  his  own  private 
fortune. 

The  Treaty  of  Alliance,  however,  between  the  United 
States  and  France,  was  a  later  occurrence.  Sentiment,  sym- 
pathy and  policy  had  dictated  the  previous  action,  but 
statecraft  and  diplomacy  required  other  grounds  to  justify 
open  participation  in  the  conflict.  It  must  appear  that  the 
Americans  were  able  to  give  active  co-operation  of  a  char- 
acter formidable  to  the  British  Government,  and  this  was 
abundantly  shown  in  the  capture  of  Gen.  Burgoyne  in  1777. 

Hale, in  his  "Life  of  Washington,"  has  indicated  three 
great  successes  achieved  by  the  Americans  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War:  1.  The  evacuation  of  Boston  by  Gen.  Howe 
in  1775,  when  every  British  soldier  was  removed  from  Xew 
England.  2.  The  surrender  of  Burgoyne  in  1777,  which  in- 
cluded an  entire  army.  o.  The  surrender  of  LordCornwal- 
lis  in  1781,  which  was  the  loss  of  another  army.  The  num- 
ber of  men,  of  course,  would  not  bear  comparison  with 
those  engaged  in  the  wars  of  Frederic  of  Prussia  and  the 
Empress  Maria  Theresa.  Nevertheless,  the  completeness 


22 

of  the  disaster,  the  critical  period  of  its  occurrence,  and  its 
dramatic  character,  greatly  effected  public  opinion,  both  in 
England  and  all  Europe.  The  evacuation  of  Boston  had 
given  our  friends  in  France  and  elsewhere  hope  in  the  pos- 
sible success  of  our  arms ;  and  the  surrender  at  Saratoga 
confirmed  this  hope  into  conviction  and  removed  hesitation 
on  the  part  of  the  French  Court.  Accordingly,  in  the 
month  of  December  the  American  Commissioners  at  Paris 
were  secretly  notified  that  Louis  XVI  was  ready  to  ac- 
knowledge the  independence  of  the  Thirteen  States  and  to 
make  a  treaty  of  alliance  and  commerce  with  the  new 
nation. 

The  history  of  the  first  French  mission  may  deserve  a 
brief  mention.  In  November,  1770,  a  Frenchman  appeared 
at  Philadelphia  and  asked  to  be  permitted  to  communicate 
with  the  Congress.  He  appeared  totally  unworthy  of 
credit,  but  Messrs.  Jefferson,  Jay  and  Franklin  had  a  con- 
ference with  him  at  the  Carpenters'  Hall.  He  would  not 
give  his  name  or  exhibit  credentials,  but  assured  them  con- 
fidently that  whatever  they  wanted  of  arms,  ammunition, 
money  or  ships  would  be  gladly  supplied  from  France. 
Then  making  his  conge,  he  departed  and  was  never  seen 
again.  Forcibly  impressed  by  his  words  the  committee 
were  able  to  induce  the  Congress  to  appoint  a  committee  to 
correspond  "with  Mends  in  Great  Britain,  Ireland  and 
other  parts  of  the  world."  A  most  discouraging  delay 
now  supervened.  Summer  was  passed  into  Autumn  when 
Dr.  Franklin  received  a  letter  from  M.  Dubourg  containing 
assurances  of  sympathy  and  help  from  France. 


23 

On  the  21st  of  September,  Franklin,  Silas  Deane  and 
Arthur  Lee  were  appointed  Commissioners  to  the  French 
Court.  A  few  weeks  later  took  place  the  surrender  of  Bur- 
goyue.  The  news  reached  Paris  on  the  4th  of  December 
and  the  public  cry  demanded  that  the  Government  unite 
its  fortunes  with  America.  Negotiations  were  speedily 
begun,  and  on  the  sixth  of  February,  1778,  two  treaties 
were  executed,  one  of  friendship  and  commerce,  and  one  of 
defensive  alliance  in  case  that  Great  Britain  should  declare 
war  against  France.  The  object  being  to  assure  commer- 
cial and  political  independence,  it  was  pledged  by  both 
parties  that  no  peace  should  be  concluded  till  that  end  had 
been  attained,  and  then  only  by  mutual  consent.  In  these 
treaties  the  King  of  France  declared  in  these  words,  "his 
intention  that  the  terms  should  be  such  as  we  might  be 
willing  to  agree  to  just  as  if  our  State  had  been  long  es- 
tablished and  in  the  fullness  of  strength  ;  that  he  would 
support  our  independence  by  every  means  in  his  power, 
and  if  he  should  get  into  war  thereby  he  would  expect  no 
compensation  from  us  on  that  account ;  also,  that  if  he  did 
engage  in  a  war  with  England  on  our  account  we  could 
make  a  separate  peace  for  ourselves  whenever  good  terms 
were  offered  to  us,"  the  only  condition  being  "  that  we  in 
no  case  if  peace  was  made  with  England  should  give  up  our 
independence  and  return  to  obedience  to  that  govern- 
ment." 

The  treaties  set  forth  further  that  we  should  be  faithful 
allies,  and  that  our  commerce  as  well  as  our  government 


24 

should  be  independent.  The  King  "  renounced  forever  the 
possession  of  the  Island  of  Bermuda  as  well  as  any  part  of 
the  continent  of  North  America,  heretofore  called  British 
Colonies."  In  the  "Diary  of  the  Revolution  "  the  author 
says  "  The  Treaty  of  Commerce  is  an  act  without  parallel. 
In  a  word,  the  sentiments  delivered  on  December  16th  by 
Monsieur  Gerard,  by  order  of  the  King  of  France  are  sen- 
timents rarely  entertained  by  princes,  and  which,  together 
with  these  remarkable  treaties,  must  rank  him,  not  only 
among  the  greatest  monarchs  of  France,  but  in  history." 

On  the  13th  of  March  the  information  of  these  treaties 
was  communicated  to  the  British  Court.  The  English 
Ambassador  was  at  once  recalled  from  Paris,  which  was 
virtually  a  declaration  of  war.  The  French  Treaties  were 
ratified  by  the  American  Congress  on  the  5th  of  May.  The 
greatest  enthusiasm  prevailed.  The  hereditary  hatred 
toward  France  which  had  hitherto  existed  in  America  was 
changed  to  respect,  gratitude  and  affection.  In  the  British 
Parliament  the  most  virulent  debates  now  took  place.  The 
Opposition  were  decided  in  advocacy  of  acknowledging  the 
independence  of  the  Colonies.  A  protracted  war  with 
France  as  a  party  to  it,  they  declared,  would  involve  great 
loss  to  British  commerce.  The  Earl  of  Chatham,  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  was  protesting  eloquently  against  the  dis- 
memberment of  the  British  Empire,  when  he  fell  in  a  faint- 
ing fit.  Almost  at  the  same  time  General  Burgoyne,  at 
home  a  prisoner  on  parole,  coolly  took  his  seat  in  the  House 
of  Commons  and  vehemently  denounced  the  inefficient  conduci 


25 

of  the  war.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that  there  was  a  dis- 
position exhibited  at  the  first  to  discredit  the  French  alli- 
ance. The  Philadelphia  Ledger  openly  favored  reconcila- 
tiou  with  England,  and  denounced  the  French  as  an 
"ambitious  and  treacherous  power,"  a  people  led  by  the 
worst  elements  of  the  Eomish  Church.  At  a  later  period 
the  failures  of  D'Estaing  and  others  to  accomplish  what 
had  been  expected  were  made  the  subject  of  unfriendly 
criticism.  Another  sentiment  ruled  in  the  counsels  of 
American  patriots.'  The  despondent  and  half-starved  army 
at  Valley  Forge  were  elated  at  the  news  that  a  powerful 
champion  had  come  to  their  aid,  and  made  the  welkin  ring 
with  their  glad  huzzas  for  France  and  Louis  XVI.  On  the 
5th  of  May  the  Commander-in-Chief  issued  a  General 
Order  for  the  celebration  of  the  event,  beginning  with 
these  words  : 

"  It  having  pleased  the  Almighty  liuler  of  the  Universe 
propitiously  to  defend  the  cause  of  the  United  American 
States  and  finally  by  raising  up  a  powerful  friend  among 
the  Princes  of  the  Earth  to  establish  our  Liberty  and 
Independence,"  etc. 

The  ratification  of  the  French  treaties  had  rendered  all 
plans  for  conciliation  hopeless.  Nevertheless  commis- 
sioners were  appointed  to  offer  terms  of  compromise  to 
the  insurgent  Colonies.  The  French  Ministry  were 
alarmed.  To  close  the  breach  between  England  and 
America  would  be  fatal  to  her  plans.  Count  Vergennes 
accordingly  hastened  to  carry  the  treaties  into  effect. 


26 

Vice- Admiral  Count  D'Estaing  was  sent  to  America  with 
a  powerful  fleet  openly  as  auxiliary  to  the  Americans. 
The  British  Ministry  immediately  gave  orders  for  the 
evacuation  of  Philadelphia.  With  Count  D'Estaing  came 
M.  Gerard  de  Eayueval,  the  French  Envoy.  A  delegation 
from  Congress,  of  which  John  Hancock  was  one,  met  the 
flag-ship  at  Chester,  and  going  on  board  greeted  M.  Gerard 
in  the  warmest  terms.  The  King  of  France  was  also  eulo- 
gized as  "  the  Protector  of  the  Rights  of  Humanity,"  and 
afterward  on  every  occasion  of  public  demonstration  that 
title  was  given  him.  M.  Gerard  proved  an  invaluable 
friend  and  counsellor. 

Count  D'Estaing  had  been  charged  with  three  missions 
which,  as  will  be  seen,  were  too  onerous  and  difficult.  He 
was  instructed  to  blockade  the  British  fleet  in  the  Dela- 
ware, to  promote  revolt  in  Lower  Canada,  and  to  protect 
the  French  possessions  in  the  West  Indies  and  on  the 
Continent.  He  had  sailed  directly  to  the  Delaware  in  or- 
der to  execute  the  first  of  these  instructions,  and  was 
unsuccessful.  The  British  Army  acting  under  orders  from 
home  had  evacuated  Philadelphia  and  returned  to  New 
York,  whither  the  fleet  had  already  gone.  On  their  way 
thither  they  were  overtaken  at  Monmouth  and  defeated  by 
those  very  men  from  Valley  Forge  whom  they  had  before 
affected  to  despise.  At  this  battle  the  young  Marquis  de 
La  Fayette  flattered  himself,  from  his  advanced  position 
under  General  Lee,  that  he  would  win  the  first  laurels  of 
the  day.  Imagine  his  chagrin  and  mortification  when  that 


27 

officer  commanded  a  retreat.  Ever  since  his  release  from 
British  captivity,  General  Lee  exhibited  coldness  and  more 
disaffection  toward  the  American  cause,  if  we  refrain  from 
a  more  just  but  harsher  term.  To  the  earnest  appeal  of 
Gen.  La  Fayette  he  coldly  replied:  "You  do  not  know 
British  soldiers,  we  cannot  stand  against  them."  "  British 
soldiers  have  been  beaten  and  may  be  again,"  said  the 
intrepid  La  Fayette,  "  at  any  rate  I  am  disposed  to  make 
the  trial."  Observing  that  Lee's  actions  were  suspicious 
he  promptly  gave  notice  to  the  Commander-in  Chief  that 
his  presence  on  that  part  of  the  field  was  of  the  greatest 
importance.  Lee's  misconduct  prevented  the  total  rout  of 
the  British  Army,  but  Washington  reached  the  place  in 
time  to  save  the  fortunes  of  the  day. 

I  may  mention  just  here  that  in  the  campaign  of  1778 
and  1770  in  the  Jerseys,  La  Fayette  had  with  him  in  the 
service  that  distinguished  Frenchman  Armaud  Charles 
Tufin,  Marquis  de  la  Rourie,  who  fought  at  Red  Bank, 
Camden  and  Yorktown,  and  like  the  trusted  Duportail  was 
often  with  Washington  at  the  headquarters  in  Morristown. 
Also  another  brave  French  officer,  Count  Duplessis,  who 
fought  nobly  at  Fort  Mercer  and  Red  Bank,  and  of  whom 
Washington  says  in  a  letter  to  Congress,  "  he  possesses  a 
degree  of  modesty  not  always  found  in  men  who  perform 
brilliant  actions." 

After  the  battle  of  Monmotitli  a  plan  was  agreed  upon 
by  Washington  and  D'Estaing  for  driving  the  British  from 
Rhode  Island.  Gen.  Sullivan  was  placed  in  command  to 


28 

co-operate  with  the  French  forces.  The  campaign  opened 
auspiciously,  but  was  destined  to  close  with  bitter  disap- 
pointment. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  French  fleet,  July  29th,  the  Brit- 
ish hastened  to  destroy  ten  of  their  vessels,  lest  they 
should  become  prizes  to  the  victors,  and  two  commanders 
next  agreed  to  attack  the  enemy  in  his  intrench- 
raeuts,  but  on  that  very  day  a  British  fleet  of 
thirty-six  vessels  appeared  and  D'Estaing  put 
forth  to  meet  them.  A  terrible  storm  arose,  which 
discomfited  Gen.  Sullivan  on  shore  and  compelled  the 
Admiral  to  desist  from  an  engagement  which  he  had 
begun  with  great  enthusiasm  and  every  hope  of  success. 
He  sailed  for  Boston  to  repair,  and  at  the  very  time  when 
victory  seemed  in  reach  of  the  American  forces,  and  the 
British  army  at  Newport  likely  to  meet  the  fate  of  Bur- 
goyne,  he  sailed  for  the  West  Indies  to  fight  the  enemy 
there.  Necessary  as  this  movement  might  have  been  to 
French  interests,  it  was  most  unfortunate  for  the  Ameri- 
cans. A  victory  in  Rhode  Island  in  1779  would  probably 
have  terminated  the  war.  Gen.  Sullivan  protested  in  severe 
terms.  At  this  the  Admiral  remonstrated,  but  was  soothed 
by  an  explanation  which  may  remind  us  of  some  of  the  oc- 
currences of  our  late  Civil  War.  D'Estaing  was  a  soldier, 
and  his  chief  officers  on  the  French  fleet  resented  the 
placing  of  a  military  officer  in  a  naval  command  over  them. 
They  did  not  scruple  to  embarrass  his  movements  in  vari- 
ous ways  and  to  prevent  their  success.  They  stand  justly 


chargeable,  therefore,  with  the  great  failure.  "  The  Count 
himself  wished  to  remain  with  us,"  Gen.  Sullivan  wrote  to 
Washington,  "but  was  overruled  in  council  by  his  captains." 
To  have  deviated  from  the  advice  of  his  council  would  have 
been  attended  with  ill  consequences  to  him  in  case  of  mis- 
fortune. 

Having  captured  St.  Vincent  and  Granada,  D'Estaing  lost 
no  time  in  returning  to  our  shores.  He  co-operated  with 
Gen.  Lincoln  in  unsuccessful  attack  upon  Savannah,  and 
after  the  final  repulse  sailed  again  for  the  West  Indies  and 
returned  at  once  to  France.  He  had  failed  in  all  he  had 
undertaken,  yet  his  services  both  to  America  and  his  own 
Government  were  of  great  importance.  He  captured  a 
number  of  armed  and  transport  ships,  opened  the  southern 
ports  to  trading  vessels,  and  destroyed  the  prestige  of  the 
British  navy  on  the  sea.  He  was  energetic,  adventurous  and 
indefatigable,  and  as  ardent  and  enthusiastic  as  a  youth.  It 
must  injustice  be  added  that  he  made  the  British  project  to 
detach  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas  from  the  American  Confed- 
eration impracticable.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  pronounced  his 
operations  highly  disastrous  to  British  interests,  yet,  even 
though  the  military  and  naval  co-operation  of  the  French 
did  not  realize  that  which  had  been  hoped  and  expected,  the 
other  advantages  from  the  alliance  were  most  important.  The 
influence  upon  the  politics  and  action  of  other  European 
States  was  invaluable.  Russia  never  hesitated  to  express 
sympathy  with  the  new  nation.  Spain  adhered  to  the  Royal 
Family  Alliance,  and  joined  France  in  active  military  opera- 


30 

tions.  The  opposition  in  England  was  encouraged  to  demand 
the  suspension  of  hostilities.  Lord  North  himself  desired 
peace  on  honorable  terms;  indeed,  it  would  have  been  con- 
ceded at  this  very  time,  but  for  the  excessive  and  unreason- 
able pride  and  obstinacy  of  the  British  King. 

France  was  as  liberal  with  her  money  as  with  her  military 
forces.  Between  the  years  1778  and  1783  she  lent  this  country 
nearly  $3,500,000,  besides  guaranteeing  a  loan  of  $1,750,000, 
from  Holland  and  paying  the  interest.  In  addition  to  these 
sums  the  King,  Louis  XVI,  in  1783  made  us  a  present  of  a 
million  of  dollars  outright.  The  French  Ambassador  actu- 
ally supported  several  members  of  Congress  who  were  not 
able  under  the  impoverished  state  of  their  private  fortunes 
to  remain  at  Philadelphia.  Large  sums  also  were  contrib- 
uted by  individuals — grand  men  like  Beaumarchais,  who 
was  but  partly  repaid  for  his  advances,  and  then  reluctantly, 
after  half  a  century  had  elapsed. 

The  next  scene  in  the  drama  exhibits  our  constant  friend 
and  ally,  Gen.  La  Fayette,  in  another  and  still  more  illus- 
trious light.  The  course  of  his  distinguished  countryman 
and  relative,  Count  D'  Estaing,  had  been  to  him  a  most 
bitter  disappointment.  He  now  resolved  to  go  back  to 
France  hi  nisei  f  and  try  his  own  efforts.  The  romantic  story, 
the  heroism  and  achievements  of  this'youth  of  22,  had  made 
him  the  idol  of  the  French  nation.  He  was  also  a  favorite 
of  the  young  King.  He  procured  an  agreement  from  Louis 
XVI  to  send  to  this  country  six  vessels  of  the  line  and  C,000 
troops  afterward  increased  to  12,000,  to  serve  under  the 


31 

direction  and  orders  of  Gen.  Washington.  He  also  pur- 
chased a  large  outfit  of  arms  and  clothing,  which  he  after- 
wards distributed  gratuitously  to  the  men  under  his  com- 
mand. 

The    arrival    of    Count    de   Rochambeau  at   Newport, 

« 

July  10,  1780,  showed  that  France  was  now  determined  to 
support  America  with  her  entire  power.  The  most  illus- 
trious of  the  French  nobility  came  with  the  army.  It  was 
a  galaxy  of  noble  names.  There  was  the  Baron  and  Count 
de  Viomenil,  the  brave  Counts  William  and  Christian  de 
Deux  Fonts,  the  no  less  courageous  Vis  count  de  Bocham- 
beau,  the  handsome  Count  de  Fersen,  the  fascinating  Duke 
de  Lauzun,  the  lively  and  impressionable  M.  De  Tilly,  the 
gallant  and  gifted  Viscount  de  Noailles ;  also  Counts 
de  Damas  and  de  Segur,  the  witty  M.  Blanchard,  Cheva- 
lier de  Chastellux,  the  clever  historian ;  the  accomplished 
Chevalier  de  Lameth  and  the  unfortunate  Count  de  Cus- 
tine ;  also  the  accomplished  soldier  Duportail,  so  constantly 
with  Washington  at  Morristowu  and  Yorktown  ;  the  warm 
hearted  and  volatile  Fleury  and  Count  Duplessis,  as  mod- 
est as  he  was  gallant,  and  others  equally  celebrated  and 
illustrious  followed  the  troops.  Delay,  however,  rendered 
it  impossible  to  realize  the  expected  achievements  of  1780. 
A  British  fleet  long  blockaded  the  French  squadron  at 
Brest,  and  Washington  felt  keenly  the  failure  of  the  laiter 
to  arrive.  He  writes  respecting  it :  "  Disappointed  of 
the  second  division  of  French  troops,  but  more  especially 
in  the  expected  naval  superiority,  which  was  the  pivot 


32 

upon  which  everything  turned,  we  have  been  compelled 
to  spend  an  inactive  campaign,  after  a  flattering  prospect 
at  the  opening  of  it,  and  vigorous  struggles  to  make  it  a 
decisive  one  on  our  part."  * 

Money  and  a  naval  force  were  the  two  pressing  wants 
of  the  hour.  There  had  been  more  reasons  than  this  for 
discouragement.  A  cabal  in  Congress  had  been  eager  to 
remove  him  from  command,  and  had  so  far  carried  out 
their  purpose  as  to  made  subordinate  officers  almost  inde- 
pendent of  his  authority.  At  the  same  time,  as  at  Saratoga, 
the  most  efficient  of  his  troops  were  detached  and  placed  un- 
der these  officers,  while  he  was  regarded  as  accountable  for 
not  accomplishing  more  satisfactory  results.  In  conform- 
ity to  this  policy,  Gen.  Gates  had  been  placed  in  command, 
first  in  New  York,  then  in  New  England  and  finally  at  the 
South.  The  defeat  at  Camden,  threatening  as  it  was  to 
the  stability  of  the  American  Confederation,  served  the 
purpose  to  put  an  end  to  the  intrigues  in  Congress.  The 
treason  of  Gen.  Arnold,  however,  was  even  more  disheart- 
ening. "  Whom  can  we  trust  ?"  was  the  cry  that  this  intelli- 
gence elicited  from  the  Commander-in-Chief.  His  prompt 
measures,  however,  prevented  the  treason  from  going  fur- 
ther or  working  any  advantage  to  the  British  cause.  The 
sad  experiences  of  1780  were,  indeed,  salutary.  They  had 
cleared  the  political  atmosphere  and  made  it  easier  to  or- 
ganize victory. 

Lord  Cornwallis  had  regarded  Georgia  and  the  Carolina* 
as  permanently  subjected.  The  operations  of  Generals 

*  Sparks's  Writings  of  Washington,  VII.,  837. 


Greene  and  Morgan  disabused  him  somewhat  of  that  illu- 
sion. He  perceived  that  Virginia  must  probably  be  his  de- 
cisive battle  ground.  General  Washington  accordingly 
sent  General  La  Fayette  thither  with  1,200  men  to  act  in 
conjunction  with  the  local  militia  and  a  naval  force  de- 
tached from  the  French  squadron  under  M.  de  Tilly.  The 
little  fleet  was  soon  successful  in  capturing  prizes,  on  one 
of  which,  the  Boinulus,  they  found  £10,000  and  clothing, 
destined  for  General  Arnold's  troops.  A  second  expedition 
under  M.  Destanches,  with  Baron  Vioineuil  and  a  land 
force,  proved  less  successful  and  returned  to  New  York 
shortly  after. 

Colonel  Bocharnbeau,  who  had  been  sent  to  France,  ar- 
rived on  the  6th  of  May  at  Boston,  accompanied  by  M.  de 
Barras,  the  new  commander  of  the  French  squadron  at 
Newport,  bringing  the  intelligence  that  Count  de  Grasse 
had  sailed  from  Brest  with  a  powerful  fleet  which  should 
defend  the  French  possessions.  Only  500  troops  could  be 
spared  for  the  American  service,  but  the  King  had  as  an 
equivalent  sent  six  millions  in  money,  so  greatly  needed. 
M.  de  Barras  lost  no  time  in  reporting  to  the  American  com- 
mander. A  conference  was  held  at  Weathersfleld,  which  he 
did  not  attend.  Washington  was  attended  by  Generals 
Knox  and  Duportail;  Eochambeau,  by  the  Chevalier  de 
Chastelleux.  The  policy  was  now  agreed  upon,  to  leave 
Count  de  Barras  at  Newport,  for  its  defense,  and  to  operate 
directly  ^against  New  York,  sending  no  more  troops  south- 
ward. 

3 


34 

A  word  here  may  give  us  a  better  view  of  the  discretion 
and  ability  of  the  French  General.  Upon  his  arrival  at 
Newport  in  July,  1780,  he  was  eagerly  importuned  by  the 
young  Marquis  de  La  Fayette  to  begin  offensive  opera- 
tions against  the  British  forces.  Eochambeau  replied, 
calling  attention  to  the  superior  numbers  of  the  enemy  and 
their  support  by  an  imposing  navy : 

"It  is  always  well,  my  dear  Marquis,"  he  wrote,  "to  be- 
lieve that  the  French  are  invincible,  but  I  will  confide  to 
you  a  great  secret ;  after  an  experience  of  forty  years  I  must 
tell  you  that  there  are  none  more  easily  beaten  when  they 
have  lost  confidence  in  their  leader;  and  they  lose  it  im- 
mediately when  they  suspect  that  they  have  been  compro- 
mised by  a  private  and  personal  ambition.  If  I  have  been 
happy  enough  to  keep  till  the  present  time  the  confidence 
of  those  who  follow  me,  it  is  because  that  after  the  most 
scrupulous  examination  of  my  conscience  I  can  safely  as- 
sert, that  of  about  15,000  men  who  have  been  killed  under 
my  orders,  I  cannot  reproaclunyself  with  the  death  of  one." 

On  the  llth  of  June,  1781,  the  camp  of  eleven  months  at 
Newport  was  broken  up  and  the  troops  set  out  for  their 
new  point  of  destination.  They  had  made  themselves  pop- 
ular, and  their  march  was  greeted  as  a  military  triumph. 
Perhaps  the  old  jest  was  as  true  then  as  afterward,  "Ouv 
people  love  to  celebrate  victories  before  the  battle  is 
fought."  The  troops  were  entertained  all  the  way  by  the 
people  and  every  where  hailed  as  the  deliverers  of  America. 
Exact  discipline  and  freedom  from  trespass  upon  private 


35 

property  characterized  their  entire  march.  Du  Ponceau, 
who  assisted  Baron  Steuben  in  preparing  his  "Army  Dis- 
cipline," writes  that  "the  army  of  Eochambeau  at  this  date 
was  so  thoroughly  well  conducted  that  not  a  soldier  took 
even  an  apple  or  a  peach  from  an  orchard  without  leave 
having  been  previously  obtained,  and  it  was  given  out  in 
General  Orders  that  in  case  of  any  dispute  between  a 
Frenchman  and  an  American  the  former  should  be  pun- 
ished whether  he  was  in  the  right  or  wrong,  and  this  rule 
was  strictly  adhered  to.  I  believe  there  is  no  example  of 
anything  similar  in  history."  (See  Perm.,  Mag.  of  Hist, 
and  Biog.,  II,  24.) 

Arriving  at  the  Hudson  the  united  forces  lay  encamped 
six  weeks.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  it  would  be  im- 
practicable to  make  a  general  attack  upon  New  York 
without  a  superior  naval  force.  A  correspondence  between 
General  Eochambeau  and  Count  de  Grasse  had  impressed 
the  latter  with  the  distresses  of  the  Southern  States,  and 
above  all  of  Virginia,  which  had  nothing  to  oppose  the  in- 
roads of  Cornwallis  except  the  small  body  of  troops  under 
La  Fayette.  As  the  proposed  attack  upon  New  York  was 
under  contemplation,  a  letter  came  to  Newport  from  the 
Count  stating  that  he  would  sail  from  San  Domingo  with 
his  entire  fleet  and  3,200  land  troops,  for  the  Chesapeake 
Bay.  At  once  the  two  Generals  resolved  to  abandon  the 
attempt  upon  New  York  and  to  enter  upon  a  campaign 
against  Cornwallis. 

On  the  21st  of  Julv  the  American  Arrnv  crossed  the 


36 

Hudson  at  Stony  Point,  and  the  French  two  days  later. 
The  two  armies  took  different  routes  and  the  appearance  of 
threatening  New  York  was  sedulously  kept  up.  The 
French  passed  through  Chatham,  Whippany,  Springfield 
and  New  Brunswick,  as  if  to  menace  Staten  Island  or  occu- 
py Sandy  Hook  with  a  view  to  facilitate  the  entrance  o 
the  French  fleet  into  New  York  harbor.  The  march  was 
meanwhile  continued  to  Trenton  and  thence  to  Philadel- 
phia, where  the  army  arrived  September  4th.  Their  recep- 
tion there  was  a  grand  ovation.  They  marched  through 
the  town  with  music,  the  streets  were  crowded,  and  ladies 
splendidly  attired  thronged  the  windows.  They  next 
marched  in  single  file  before  the  Congress  and  the  Cheva- 
lier de  la  Luzerne,  the  French  Ambassador,  and  the  next 
day  went  through  the  exercise  of  fire-arms.  The  spectators, 
twenty  thousand  in  number,  were  surprised  and  enrap- 
tured at  the  perfection  of  their  evolutions. 

"This  day  was  destined  for  favorable  omens,"  wrote  de 
Ohastellux.  The  French  Embassador  had  invited  all  the 
officers  to  dine  with  him.  As  they  were  seated  at  the  table 
an  express  was  received.  The  host  hurried  to  relieve  the 
general  anxiety.  "  Thirty-six  ships  of  the  line,  commanded 
by  M.  le  Comte  de  Grasse,  have  arrived  in  Chesapeake  Bay," 
he  said,  "  and  3,GOO  men  have  landed  and  opened  commu- 
nications with  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette."  Joy  and  ex- 
ultation beamed  on  every  countenance  and  everyone 
predicted  a  speedy  conclusion  of  the  struggle.  The  news 
spread  all  over  Philadelphia ;  the  residence  of  the  French 


37 

minister  was  thronged  by  crowds,  and  the  air  rang  with 
the  cry  of  "  Long  live  Louis  XVI."  It  was  this  same 
Philip  Louis  Marquis  de  Chastellux  to  whom,  upon  his 
marriage  in  1787,  Washington  wrote  the  following  most 
witty  letter :  "  I  saw  by  the  culogium  you  often  made 
on  the  happiness  of  domestic  life  in  America  that 
you  had  swallowed  the  bait  and  that  you  would  as  surely  be 
taken  one  day  or  another  as  that  you  were  a  philosopher 
and  a  soldier.  So  your  day  has  at  length  come.  I  am  glad 
of  it,  with  all  my  heart  and  soul.  It  is  quite  good  enough 
for  you.  Now  you  are  well  served  for  coming  to  fight 
in  favor  of  the  American  rebels  all  the  way  across  the  At- 
lantic ocean,  by  catching  that  terrible  contagion,  domestic 
felicity,  which,  like  the  small-pox  or  the  plague,  a  man  can 
have  only  once  in  his  life." 

On  the  fifth  of  September  Admiral  Graves  appeared  oif 
Chesapeake  Bay  and  was  promptly  encountered  by  the 
Count  de  Grasse,  losing  two  frigates  in  the  contest.  It  had 
not  been  the  purpose  of  the  Count  at  first  to  operate  in  the 
Chesapeake,  but  to  proceed  to  New  Foundland  with  a  view 
to  the  recovery  of  Canada.  At  the  entreaty  of  both  Generals 
Washington  and  Eochambeau,  he  changed  his  purpose 
and  arrived  at  the  Cheaspeakc  at  the  moment  most  for- 
tunate as  well  as  propitious  for  the  American  cause. 

The  several  commanders  reached  Williamsburgh  Sep- 
tember 14th.  This  was  the  Capital  of  Virginia,  and  here 
were  the  headquarters  of  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette.  The 
ardent  young  Frenchman  waseverjoyed  to  greet  the  Com- 


inander-in-Chief.  For  months,  with  a  small  force,  he  had 
been  employed  in  protecting  Virginia  from  the  troops  of 
Lord  Cornwallis,  often  barely  escaping  capture.  When 
the  latter  finally  took  possession  of  Yorktown,  he  had  not 
a  doubt  that  he  would  soon  complete  his  operations  by 
this  achievement.  "The  boy  cannot  escape  me,"  was  his 
boast  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  But  La  Faycttc  was  not  so 
easy  to  find.  He  would  dart  forward  as  if  to  engage  in 
General  battle,  and  as  suddenly  retire.  He  had  the  knowl- 
edge of  Cornwallis'  movements  and  intentions,  and  was 
able  to  deceive  him  in  regard  to  his  own.  The  arrival  of 
the  investing  armies  from  the  North  put  an  end  to  his 
danger  and  anxiety.  Word  was  given  to  Count  de  Grasse 
and  a  conference  was  held  on  board  his  flag-ship.  The 
Admiral  desired  to  leave  a  small  force  to  hold  the  Bay  and 
employ  the  rest  in  active  operations  outside.  The  best, 
strategists  of  the  army  were  aware  that  Cornwallis  could 
not  sustain  himself.  But  Generals  Washington  and  Eo- 
chanibcau  desired  to  make  sure  without  risking  too  much. 
At  their  entreaty  he  consented  to  remain  and  blockade 
the  Bay,  while  the  armies  should  operate  directly  upon 
Yorktown. 

An  amusing  story  is  related  of  this  interview.  (Curtis' 
Recollections.)  As  General  Washington  reached  the 
quarterdeck  of  the  "  Ville  do  Paris,"  the  flag-ship,  Admiral 
de  Grasse  embraced  him,  kissing  him  on  each  cheek.  As 
he  hugged  him,  he  uttered  the  French  phrase  of  endear- 
ment :  "  Moncker  petit  General  (my  dear  little  General.)" 


39 

The  Count  was  tall,  but  so,  too  was  Washington.  The 
term  petit,  or  little,  applied  to  his  large  and  commanding 
person  was  too  much  for  his  companions.  The  French, 
true  to  the  ancient,  rigid  etiquette,  preserved  gravity  as 
best  they  could,  but  General  Knox,  "  regardless  of  all  rules 
laughed,  and  that  aloud,  till  his  fat  sides  shook  again." 

On  the  27th  of  September,  General  Washington  issued 
an  order  of  battle,  and  on  the  28th  the  entire  combined 
army  was  put  in  motion  ;  on  the  30th  Yorktown  was  com- 
pletely invested.  On  the  left  were  the  French,  on  the  right 
the  Americans.  The  former  were  commanded  by  the  Vis- 
count and  Baron  Viomenil  and  the  Marquis  De  St.  Simon  ; 
the  latter  by  Baron  Steuben,  Generals  Wayne,  La  Fayette 
and  Lincoln.  The  siege  was  conducted  with  great  vigor 
and  precision.  General  Washington  spent  the  first  night 
before  Yorktown  under  a  mulberry  tree.  His  anxiety 
must  have  been  intense.  The  army  before  him  was  com- 
posed of  veteran  troops,  commanded  by  one  of  the  ablest 
British  Generals,  well  supplied  and  confident.  He  had 
but  one  officer  competent  to  direct  a  siege,  to  oppose  to 
men  adepts  in  the  art  and  science  of  military  defense.  It 
is  duo  to  the  troops  to  say  that  the  orders  of  Baron  Steu- 
ben were  promptly  obeyed,  and  that  the  French  forces 
were  equally  energetic.  On  the  Cth  of  October  the  first 
parallel  was  established  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the 
British  works,  and  on  the  llth  the  second  was  opened  three 
hundred  yards  nearer.  The  French  in  this  siege  were 
rivals  to  each  other  ;  each  officer  was  envious  of  every  one 


40 

sent  on  a  dangerous  attempt.  They  exposed  themselves 
needlessly  to  examine  the  works  of  the  enemy  and  ad- 
vanced outposts.  Common  soldiers  rivaled  the  officers 
in  daring  enterprises.  General  Eochambeau  himself,  to 
settle  a  question,  left  the  trenches,  descended  into  the 
ravine,  ascended  the  opposite  escarpment  and  approached 
the  enemy's  redoubt,  up  to  the  abattis  surrounding  it. 

General  La  Fayette  and  Baron  Viomenil  were  appointed 
to  capture  the  two  redoubts  which  embarassed  our  opera^ 
tions.  A  friendly  rivalry  existed  between  these  two  offi- 
cers. Colonel  Alexander  Hamilton  led  the  American 
storming  party,  and  Count  William  Deux  Fonts  the 
French.  La  Fayette  carried  his  redoubt  five  minutes  the 
sooner,  owing  to  not  waiting  to  remove  the  abattis.  The 
British  soldiers  were  generally  half  drunk  when  fighting, 
and  such  was  the  case  at  this  time.  The  bombardment 
was  now  kept  up  without  cessation  for  five  days.  The 
earthworks  afforded  but  inadequate  defense.  An  attempt 
at  sortie  was  repulsed,  then  escape  was  attempted,  and 
finally,  on  the  17th  of  October,  Lord  Cornwallis  offered 
to  surrender.  The  mistake  of  D'Estaing  at  Savanna  in 
giving  twenty-four  hours  was  not  repeated,  and  in  two 
hours  Cornwallis  had  acceded  to  the  terms  of  capitulation, 
with  "  the  same  honors  as  were  granted  to  the  American 
garrison  at  Charleston."  The  Commissioners  negotiating 
the  treaty  of  capitulation  were  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dun- 
das  and  Major  Eoss  on  the  part  of  the  British  ;  Viscount 
de  Noailles  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Laurens  on  the  part 
of  the  Americans. 


41 

Mr.  G.  W.  Parke  Curtis  remarks  :  "  Here,  as  at  Stony 
Point,  notwithstanding*  the  provocation  to  retaliate,  which 
was  justified  by  the  inhuman  massacres  of  Paoli  and  Fort 
Griswold,  mercy,  divine  mercy,  perched  triumphant  on 
our  country's  colors. 

Imagine  the  emotions  of  the  Conimauder-in-Chief  as  he 
signed  the  compact  of  capitulation  that  memorable  19th 
of  October.  "A  glorious  moment  for  America,"  wrote 
General  Knox  to  his  wife.  "  The  play  is  over  and  the 
fifth  act  has  closed,"  said  La  Fayette.  It  was  a  proud  day 
for  him  ;  he  had  coped  with  Coruwallis  and  mastered  him 
in  tactics  ;  he  had  received  the  highest  honor,  command- 
ing alternately  three  Field  Marshals  of  France  and  the 
troops  under  them.  "  The  General  congratulates  the 
army  upon  the  glorious  event  of  yesterday,"  was  the  open- 
ing sentence  of  an  order  by  the  Commander-in-Chief. 
Then  he  praised  the  King  of  France,  Admiral  de  Grasse, 
General  Eochambeau,  Baron  de  Viomenil ;  his  own  Gen- 
erals, Lincoln,  La  Fayette  and  Steubeu,  to  whom  he  was 
personally  attached  ;  naming  others  till  his  paper  would 
hardly  hold  out ;  and  finally  adding  that  his  thanks  if 
given  to  each  individual  of  merit  in  the  army  would  com- 
prehend them  all. 

It  was  the  wish  of  General  Washington  to  follow  up 
this  victory  by  the  long-deferred  attack  upon  New  York. 
He  believed  it  was  easy  now  to  drive  the  enemy  from  our 
soil.  Perhaps  he  was  right.  With  him,  years  of  disaster 
were  insufficient  to  obliterate  hope  of  final  success,  and 


42 

he  hardly  permitted  the  ardor  of  victory  to  overcome  his 
judgment.  If  his  purpose  had  been  carried  into  effect 
the  first  years  of  the  new  nation  would  not  have  been 
clouded  by  British  arrogance  and  pusillanimity. 

Both  de  Grasse  and  Bochambeau  opposed  this  proposi- 
tion. The  Admiral  had  been  commanded  to  go  to  the  aid 
of  the  Spanish  allies  in  the  West  Indies  and  would  do  no 
more  ;  General  Eochambeau  was  not  willing  to  engage  in 
another  campaign  that  same  year.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
recupitulate  the  history  of  the  ensuing  year.  The  French 
army  remained  in  Virginia  till  the  next  season,  and  then 
returned  to  the  North,  receiving  the  most  cordial  and  flat- 
tering attentions  along  their  route.  It  having  finally  been 
decided  that  there  would  bo  no  more  further  service  re- 
quired of  them  in  America  they  proceeded  to  Boston  to 
embark  for  the  West  Indies.  They  had  already  imbibed 
the  American  sentiment  of  liberty.  "I  was  obliged,"  says 
Count  Segur,  "to  keep,  night  and  day,  a  strict  watch.  The 
prospect  of  happiness  which  liberty  presented  to  the  sol- 
diers in  this  country,  had  created  in  them  a  desire  to  quit 
their  colors  and  remain  in  America." 

While  at  Boston  the  French  officers  were  treated  with 
marked  distinction.  The  Legislature  paid  a  congratulatory 
visit  to  the  Baron  de  Vioiuenil,  and  Samuel  Adams  address- 
ed him  in  their  behalf.  A  dinner  was  given  to  the  French 
ollicers,  at  which  General  Hancock  presided  One  day  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Cooper  addressed  them  in  these  prophetic  words': 

"Take  care,"   said  he,   "take  care,  young  men,  lest  the 


43 

triumph  of  the  cause  on  this  virgin  soil  should  too  much  in- 
fluence your  hopes.  You  will  carry  away  with  you  the 
germs  of  these  generous  sentiments;  but  if  you  ever  attempt 
to  propagate  them  on  your  native  soil,  after  so  many  ages 
of  corruption,  you  will  have  to  surmount  far  different  ob- 
stacles. It  has  cost  us  much  blood  to  conquer  liberty,  but 
you  will  have  to  shed  it  in  torrents  before  you  can  estab- 
lish it  in  Europe." 

"How  many  times,"  says  Count  Dauias,  "during  our 
political  storm,  during  our  fatal  days,  have  I  called  to  mind 
those  prophetic  warnings ;  but  the  inestimable  prize  which 
the  Americans  obtained  by  their  sacrifice  was  always 
present  to  my  mind." 

Many  did  make  America  their  future  home,  and  others 
who  returned  to  France  were  eager  to  go  once  more  to  the 
United  States.  The  enthusiasm  of  liberty  enkindled  there 
continued  its  impulse  till  not  only  revolution  but  a  new 
book  of  history  was  begun  in  Europe. 

There  is,  however,  much  that  is  painful  in  the  retrospect. 
Count  de  Grassc,  to  whom  we  owed  so  much  in  the  last 
scenes  of  our  drama,  went  hence  only  to  encounter  inelon- 
choly  reverses  of  fortune.  He  engaged  in  several  naval 
conflicts,  finally  suffering  capture  by  Admiral  Rodney, 
April  12,  1782.  It  was  one  of  the  revenges  of  history  that 
on  that  occasion  his  flag-ship,  the  Ville  de  Paris,  wus  en- 
countered by  the  Canada,  commanded  by  Captain  Corn  \val- 
lis,  and  after  a  fierce  struggle,  in  which  but  three  men  were 
left  alive  on  his  vessel,  was  forced  to  strike  her  colors. 


44 

Thus  the  English  officer  avenged  the  fate  of  his  more  cele- 
brated brother  at  Yorktown.  Losing  the  favor  of  his  King 
for  that  misfortune,  de  Grasse  never  returned  to  active 
service.  "Brave  and  good  as  the  Captain  of  a  ship,"  says 
Guerin,  "the  Count  de  Grasse  was  an  embarrassing  com- 
mander and  a  still  more  ill-starred  Admiral."  His  last 
yccirs  were  unhappy,  and  he  finally  died  in  January,  1788. 
Washington  learning  of  this,  wrote  to  Rochambeau  :  "His 
frailties  should  be  buried  with  him  in  the  grave,  while  his 
name  will  be  long  deservedly  dear  to  this  Country."  His  six 
daughters  came  to  this  country  as  exiles  during  the  French 
Eevolution,  and  a  pension  of  §10,000  a  year  was  settled  on 
them,  while  his  son,  the  Count  de  Tilly,  was  employed  as 
an  engineer. 

Count  D'Estaiug,  when  he  returned  home,  was  received 
by  the  King  with  flattering  distinction.  In  1783  he  com- 
manded the  combined  fleets  of  Trance  and  Spain,  and  in 
1787  became  Commandant  of  the  National  Guards.  He  was 
tinally  arrested  as  a  suspect,  and  having  given  testimony 
in  favor  of  the  Queen  at  her  trial,  he  was  himself  tried  in 
1794  and  beheaded. 

General  Rochainbeau,  after  his  return  from  America,  re- 
ceived the  merited  office  of  Marshal  of  France.  He  after- 
ward fell  under  the  displeasure  of  the  Revolutionary 
Tribunal  and  was  condemned  to  death.  The  death  of 
Robespierre,  however,  saved  him  from  execution,  and  he 
lived  to  hold  honorable  place  under  the  Empire.  He  was 
waiting  at  the  hospital,  he  says,  where  thirteen  persons 


45 

were  inmates,  when  the  officer  came  in  and  brought  twelve 
"acts  of  accusation,"  to  accompany  the  Princess  Elizabeth, 
Eochambeau  was  listening  for  his  own  name,  when  the  first 
officer  cried  out :  "Didst  tliou  not  hear,  Marshal,  that  I 
said  on  entering,  there  is  nothing  for  thee?"  "I  am  deaf," 
replied  Eochambeau,  "them  canst  surely  repeat  it  to  me." 

The  Duke  de  Lauzun  after  his  return  to  France  was 
elected  to  the  States  General.  He  also  served  in  the  army 
of  the  Eepublic  in  Corsica,  Savoy  and  La  Vendee;  but  his 
lenity  lost  him  favor,  and  he  was  condemned  and  beheaded 
the  last  day  of  the  year  1703.  Many  anecdotes  are  related 
concerning  him.  One  day  a  countryman  in  Connecticut 
asked  him  what  trade  his  father  followed.  Greatly  amused 
he  replied:  "My  father  does  nothing,  but  I  have  an  uncle 
who  is  a  blacksmith,"  (a  marechal,  alluding  to  Marshal  de 
Biron).  "Good,  good,"  cried  the  man,  shaking  his  hand 
warmly,  "it  is  a  capital  trade." 

Perhaps,  however,  no  man  has  been  more  diversely  or  so 
inconclusively  judged  as  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette.  On 
the  one  hand  he  has  been  praised  as  equal  almost  to  Wash- 
ington himself.  Yet  the  first  Napoleon  describes  him  as 
"only  a  ninny,  without  civil  or  military  talent,  narrow 
minded  and  dissimulating,  a  sort  of  monomaniac,  with 
whom  blindness  took  the  place  of  reason."  The  dominant 
weakness,  however,  appears  to  have  been  an  excessive  love 
of  popularity,  the  only  human  recompense  which  he  seems 
to  have  contemplated  as  the  reward  of  all  his  efforts,  and 
the  immoderate  pursuit  of  which  appears  to  have  resulted 


46 

in  the  most  fatal  errors  of  Iris  life.  But  it  seems  hardly 
grateful  to  criticise  him.  In  our  cause  he  enlisted  with  an 
ardent,  youthful  enthusiasm ;  he  contributed  freely  of  his 
private  fortune ;  he  gave  his  best  energies.  If  we  name  his 
love  of  popularity  the  "  passion  for  glory,"  it  seems  hardly 
a  weakness,  but  a  characteristic  honorable  to  its  possessor. 

.It  has  been  contemplated  to  place  on  the  proposed  mon- 
ument to  La  Fayette  in  the  city  of  Washington  the  four 
subordinate  figures  of  Kochambeau,  the  Chevalier  Dupor- 
tail  Count  de  Grasse,  and  Count  D'Estaing.  In  this 
selection  the  Washington  Association  of  New  Jersey,  the 
Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution,  the  South  Carolina 
Society  of  Cincinnati,  the  New  York  as  well  as  the  New 
Jersey  Historical  Society  concur.  The  Massachusetts  His^ 
torical  Society,  however,  dissents  and  recommends  instead 
of  the  Count  D'Estaing  and  Chevalier  Duportail,  the  Baron 
de  Viomenil  and  the  Marquis  de  St.  Simon. 

It  is  no  pleasing  task  to  depreciate  the  services  of  any  of 
our  French  allies  at  the  time  that  "  tried  men's  souls." 
Justice,  however,  demands  at  our  hands  to  uphold  the 
higher  claim  of  the  Chevalier  Duportail.  Ho  was  one  of 
the  first  who  came  hither  to  help  our  cause.  As  early  as 
February,  1777,  he  hacTcommitted  his  fortunes  to  the  event 
and  was  placed  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Washington.  He  served 
in  America  more  than  six  years,  enduring  the  same  hard- 
ships and  vicissitudes  as  our  soldiers.  He  was  admired 
and  praised  in  both  the  allied  armies  and  by  their  Com- 
manders. At  Yorktown  he  receivedjthe  special  acknowl- 


47 

edgement  of  Geii.  Washington  for  his  efficiency.  Returning 
to  France  he  received  the  dignity  of  Marechal  de  Champs 
and  Minister  of  War.  Resembling  La  Fayette  in  many  re- 
spects, his  history  was  very  similar.  Finally,  having  been 
accused  in  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  he  came  to  this  coun- 
try, where  he  remained  ten  years.  While  his  services  ex* 
ceed  six  years,  those  of  the  Baron  de  Viomenil  were  but 
two  years  and  nine  months,  little  more  than  one-third  as 
Jong.  We  do  not  care  to  depreciate  the  qualities  of  M.  de 
Viomenil;  he  was  a  noble  soldier  and  deserving  the  high 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  Count  de  Rochambeau,  as 
Duportail  was  ol  the  higher  regard  bestowed  on  him  by 
Washington. 

Why  §t.  Simon  should  be  proposed  at  all  is  beyond  em- 
power to  surmise.  He  was  simply  a  Spaniard,  who  fought 
as  such,  with  no  sympathy  for  the  people  or  institutions 
of  this  country.  He  was  a  military  man  by  profession,  and 
went,  in  fact,  whither  he  was  ordered. 

The  Count  D'Estaing  was  from  the  first  a  warm  and 
earnest  friend  of  America.  Before  he  sailed  for  this  coun- 
try he  had  used  all  his  powers  and  influence  in  our  behalf 
He  was  sincere  and  devoted.  Upon  his  return  to  France 
he  pleaded  incessantly  with  the  French  Ministry  to  des- 
patch a  large  force  to  our  aid.  Even  though  victory  had 
been  snatched  from  his  reach  by  the  inclement  storm,  he 
was  none  the  less  ready  to  engage  in  conflict.  He  never 
relaxed  in  his  devotion  to  American  interests. 

We  plead  therefore  that  the  honor  which  is  contemplated 


48 

for  our  earliest  and  most  constant  friends,  our  French 
Allies,  be  extended  to  the  men  with  whom  LaFayette  was 
most  in  sympathy.  They  amply  proved  their  deserving, 
and  what  they  accomplished  was  in  a  remarkable  degree 
simply  the  extending  and  completing  of  what  he  himself 
had  initiated.  Duportail's  acts  were  like  his  brave  leader's, 
and  won  for  the  performer  a  rare  degree  of  Washington, s 
favor.  D'Estaing  was  next  in  the  place  of  honor,  and  his 
very  presence  here  inspired  a  degree  of  hope  and  courage 
in  our  leaders  and  supporters  which  can  not  well  be  over- 
estimated. He  made  future  success  more  easy ;  and  though 
he  made  no  such  signal  achievement  as  Eochambeau  or  Do 
Grasse,  he  yet  was  as  noble  and  worthy  as  they. 

The  monument  which  is  contemplated  will  be  an  endur- 
ing testimonial  of  the  Nation's  gratitude,  and  it  will  be 
much  more  befitting  if  the  statues  of  D'Estaing  and  the 
heroic  Duportail  with  those  of  De  Grasse  and  Eochambeau 
are  placed  there  beside  our  most  noble  benefactor. 

Do  not  these  names,  my  friends,  stand  out  in  history  as 
patriot  heroes  even  more  disinterested  than  our  own  Eevo- 
lutionary  or  Pilgrim  sires?  For  while  it  was  for  a  Leoni- 
das,  a  Tell,  and  an  Alfred  to  dare  and  suffer  long  for  their 
native  land,  these  heroic  spirits  went  forth  from  their 
homes  to  combat  on  a  far  distant  shore  for  the  national 
life  of  an  almost  unknown  people.  While  it  was  Luther 
and  the  Eeformation  which  laid  the  foundation  of  the  rights 
of  man  in  society,  so  it  was  our  American  Eevolution  which 
established  his  political  and  civil  freedom;  and  to  our  sue- 


49 

cess  in  this  great  struggle,  France  generously  contributed 
her  millions  and  sacrificed  the  lives  of  many  of  her  bravest 
sous.  Therefore  we  cannot  cease  to  remember  her  with 
gratitude,  and  especially  at  this  time,  so  near  totheCenteu- 
niul  of  the  Inauguration  of  the  first  President  of  this  now 
great,  glorious  and  successful  Republic. 


Fort  Stanwix  and  Battle  of  Oriskany. 


BY 

J.   C.   PUMPELLY. 


An  address  delivered  before  the  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the 
Revolution,  in  New  York  City,  Dec.  3,  1888. 


.Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the 
Revolution: — Just  so  surely  as  there  is  a  power  in  this  world 
that  makes  towards  righteousness,  so  there  is  a  power 
that  makes  towards  patriotism,  arid  we  find  in  this  Society, 
young  as  it  is,  such  an  influence  going  out  among  our  peo- 
ple— a  historical  spirit  whose  inspiration  is  fed  by  such 
events  as  we  commemorate  to-night,  and  whose  impulses 
are  wise,  conservative,  and  uplifting. 

There  have  always  been  districts  of  the  earth  where  na- 
tions and  armies  have  had  their  decisive  battles.  Belgium, 
from  Julius  Caesar  until  now,  has  been  the  battlefield  of 
Europe.  There  in  1815  the  fate  of  that  country  was  de- 
termined— whether  it  was  to  be  French  or  National.  So 
we  may  say  that  the  State  of  New  York,  the  valleys  of  the 
Mohawk  and  the  Hudson,  constituted  the  righting  ground 

50 


51 

of  the  American  Bevolution.  In  Colonial  days  Charles  II. 
was  assured  of  no  foothold  on  this  continent  until  he  had 
become  master  of  that  region ;  and  when  we  recall  that 
the  ancestors  of  those  who  fought  at  Oriskauy  passed  in 
1683  the  "  Charter  of  Liberties,"  we  know  of  what  heroic 
stuff  his  colonists  were  made,  and  how  fearlessly  they  de- 
fended their  rights. 

English  statesmen  saw  also  that  more  than  all  the  South, 
Philadelphia,  and  the  Island  of  New  York,  that  tMs  region 
was  the  very  eye  of  the  campaign  of  1777.  So  it  came 
about  that  a  well-devised  plan  was  formed  in  England  for 
the  grasping  of  this  key  to  the  continent. 

Clinton,  the  Commander-in-Chief,  was  to  start  from  New 
York  and  follow  up  the  Hudson ;  General  Burgoyne  with 
his  7,000  men  was  to  approach  from  the  north  by  the  way 
of  Lake  Champlaiu ;  while  Col.  Barry  St.  Leger  with  his 
1,700  Tories  and  Indians  was  to  come  from  Oswego  on 
down  the  Mohawk  Valley,  joining  the  leaders  of  the  other 
two  expeditions  at  Albany  when  their  work  was  completed. 
All  these  expeditions  were  well  appointed,  the  offi- 
cers able,  and  the  armies  thoroughly  equipped.  Sir  Wil- 
liam Johnson  had  sagaciously  provided  for  the  sustaining 
of  the  British  power  in  the  Mohawk  country,  and  his  man- 
tle had  fallen  upon  his  equally  able  but  more  unscrupu- 
lous son. 

By  these  men,  aided  by  Brant,  the  famous  chief,  the 
whole  Indian  Confederacy,  except  the  Oneidas,  had  been 
allied  to  the  British  cause,  and  this  alone  was  a  serious 


52 

menace  to  the  patriot  cause.    Yet,  in  the  Providence  of 
God,  who  is  not  necessarily  on  the  side  of  the  heaviest 
battalions,  none  of  these  expeditions,  as  history  tells  us, 
ever  reached  their  destination. 

In  this  year  of  1777,  so  full  of  gloom  for  our  cause,  if 
Burgoyne  was  successful  New  England  was  in  danger  of 
being  cut  off  from  all  communication  with  the  other  colo- 
nies ;  and  as  in  that  day  when  Lexington  fired  the  "  gun 
that  was  heard  round  the  world,"  every  county  was  awake 
to  the  importance  of  a  most  vigorous  resistance. 

Fortunately  there  was  no  division  in  the  East,  and  the 
army  of  General  Schuyler  was  promptly  recruited  from 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut. 

It  was  this  able  commander  who  "  made  the  lock  and 
fitted  the  key  "  which  the  self-lauded  Gates  had  but  to 
turn  and  the  defeat  of  Cornwallis  was  assured.  It  was 
Schuyler  also  whose  characteristic  forethought  secured  im- 
portant defenses  in  the  Mohawk  Valley — one  of  which  was 
located  at  a  point  between  Wood  Creek  and  the  Mohawk, 
and  was  named  Fort  Stanwix.  Eight  in  the  pathway  of 
St.  Leger  was  this  fort,  and  he  must  perforce  take  it  or  fail 
in  his  expedition. 

That  he  did  so  fail,  with  all  the  advantages  he  possessed, 
is  to  me  another  striking  proof  that  the  cause  of  the  col- 
onists was  under  the  protection  of  that  all-wise  Buler 
whose  arm  is  ever  bared  for  the  defense  of  His  people. 

St.  Leger  had  a  force  of  1,700  troops, — the  flower  of  Bur- 
goyne's  army.  Tryon  County  was  full  of  Tories,  every 


53 

family  almost  having  in  it  the  partisans  of  the  king  ;  and 
Sir  John  Johnson  and  the  murderous  thug,  Zebulon  Butler, 
had  formed  them  into  military  organizations.  The  Mo  • 
hawk  Indians,  the  most  sanguinary  of  all  the  Iroquois,  led 
by  Brant,  cooperated  with  the  British.  As  if  to  abet  Eng- 
lish cruelty  by  the  incentive  of  cupidity,  St.  Leger  offered 
£20  (English  pounds)  for  every  American  scalp.  Not  only 
soldiers  were  mutilated,  but  young  boys  and  girls  were 
waylaid  and  murdered  in  order  to  receive  this  infamous 
guerdon. 

The  Oneidas  were  faithful  to  the  American  cause.  They 
even  offered  to  break  the  ancient  league  and  add  their 
forces  to  those  of  the  colonists;  but  considerations  of  pol- 
icy led  to  a  waiving  of  this  proposition,  which,  if  accepted, 
would  have  prevented  St.  Leger  from  reaching  Fort  Stan- 
wix  prior  to  the  capture  of  Burgoyne.  As  it  was,  the  Oiiei- 
das  kept  the  garrison  at  Fort  Stanwix  and  the  Committee 
of  Safety  at  German  Flats  carefully  informed  of  the  coun- 
sels of  the  Six  Nations  and  the  movements  of  the  British 
troops. 

Now,  at  this  date,  August,  1777,  Colonel  Peter  Ganse- 
voort,  a  brave  officer  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  was  in 
command  at  Fort  Stauwix,  and  was  soon  after  joined  by 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Marinus  Willett,  an  experienced  sol- 
dier, thoroughly  versed  in  border  warfare  ;  with  his  regi- 
ment the  garrison  now  amounted  to  550  men. 

The  emergency  required  all  the  skill,  energy,  and  cour- 
age of  both  officers.  In  a  letter  to  General  Schuyler, 


54 

dated  July  4th,  Colonel  Gansevoort  writes :  "  Owing  to  the 
increasing  number  of  hostile  Indians,  150  men  would  be 
needed  to  obstruct  Wood  Creek,  an  equal  number  to  guard 
the  men  at  work  felling  and  hauling  timber.  Beef  is 
spoiled,  bullets  do  not  suit  the  firelocks,  a  ton  of  powder 
is  needed.  We  will,  notwithstanding  every  difficulty,  exert 
ourselves  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  and  if  your  Excel- 
lency will  order  a  speedy  re-enforcement  and  needed  sup- 
plies to  enable  us  to  hold  out  a  siege,  weiuill  be  able  to  give 
a  good  account  of  any  force  that  will  probably  come 
against  us." 

On  the  2d  of  August,  the  day  of  the  investment  of  the 
fort  by  St.  Leger's  forces,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mellon,  of 
Colonel  Weston's  regiment,  arrived  with  200  men  and  two 
bateaux  of  provisions  and  military  stores.  They  reached 
the  fort  just  as  the  enemy  appeared  on  the  skirts  of  the 
forest ;  so  near  were  they  that  the  captain  who  commanded 
the  boats  was  made  prisoner.  The  command  now  con- 
sisted of  750  men  all  told;  six  weeks'  provisions,  and  a  fail- 
supply  of  ammunition ;  but  the  garrison  was  without  a 
flag.  'Twas  then  and  there,  by  these  unskillful  but  heroic 
hands,  that  the  standard  which  was  to  be  the  first  to  be 
lifted  unfurling  the  Stars  and  Stripes  in  victorious  battle 
was  made  in  the  garrison  out  of  odds  and  ends  of  cloth- 
ing. Pieces  of  white  were  taken  from  shirts,  the  blue  was 
from  a  camlet  cloak  of  Captain  Swartont's,  and  the  stripes 
from  a  woman's  scarlet  mantle. 

On  the  3d  of  August  a  flag  was  sent  into  the  fort  from 


55 

the  enemy  with  messages  full  of  vaunting  threats  ami  lav- 
ish promises,  all  of  which  produced  no  effect  upon  the 
brave  and  intrepid  commander.  Hostilities  commenced 
on  August  4th,  the  Indians  concealing  themselves  behind 
trees  and  by  their  fire  greatly  annoying  the  men  employed 
upon  the  parapets. 

It  was  at  this  time  St.  Leger  in  vain  over-confidence  sent 
his  message  to  Burgoyne  that  the  fort  would  be  his  di- 
rectly, and  that  they  would  speedily  meet  as  victors  in  Al- 
bany. 

St.  Leger' s  appearance  in  the  valley  had  roused  the  yeo- 
manry to  a  sudden  and  full  comprehension  of  the  peril  of 
their  situation,  and  they  forthwith  gave  the  command  of 
the  militia  to  Nicholas  Herkimer,  who  had  served  in  the 
French  war  and  been  made  a  brigadier-general  the  year 
before.  He  was  a  brave  soldier  and  a  Christian  man,  who 
had  used  his  best  efforts  to  dissuade  the  Indians  from  tak- 
ing part  iu  the  conflict  and  had  sent  to  Unadilla  a  mission 
to  this  end,  which  the  Indian  chief  Brant  had  taken  pains 
to  oppose  and  thwart. 

In  reply  to  a  proclamation  issued  by  him  for  a  force  to 
go  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Stanwix  and  its  brave  defenders, 
every  patriot  heart  was  stirred,  and  though  some  of  his 
own  family  refused  to  join  him,  and  even  went  over  to  the 
side  of  the  enemy,  he  succeeded  in  assembling  together  at 
Fort  Dayton,  now  Herkimer  village,  on  the  4th  of  August, 
1777,  about  800  fighting  men.  Each  farmer  seized  his  trusty 
musket  and,  leaving  his  plow  in  the  furrow,  hurried  to  the 


56 

rendezvous.  The  need  was  urgent  and  the  time  for  pre- 
paration so  brief  that  the  Scotch-Irish  of  Cherry  Valley, 
always  foremost,  nearly  lost  the  opportunity  of  taking 
their  share  in  the  expedition  of  succor. 

The  principal  rallying  point  was  German  Flats,  and  here 
gathered  Colonels  Klock,  Visscher,  Cox,  Bellinger,  with 
whatever  number  of  their  regiments,  as  well  as  volunteers, 
could  be  collected ;  there  also  came  the  Committee  of 
Safety  of  Tryoii  County. 

Through  information  given  by  Molly,  the  sister  of  Joseph 
Brant  and  wife  of  Johnson,  St.  Leger  was  made  acquainted 
with  this  projected  movement  of  the  patriots,  who  were  by 
this  time  hurrying  forward  without  order  or  protection 
against  flanking  parties. 

Thomas  Spencer  and  others  of  the  friendly  Oneidas  who 
were  with  General  Herkiuier  besought  him  to  send  out 
scouts  and  move  cautiously,  and  he  promised  to  do  so ;  but 
when,  on  the  5th  of  August,  at  Whitestone,  he  urged  this 
course  he  was  opposed  by  Colonels  Cox,  Paris,  and  others, 
who  advised  more  haste,  and  was  even  taunted  with  cow- 
ardice. Great  as  he  knew  the  danger  must  be,  and  feeling 
as  he  did  that  he  was  as  it  were  the  father  of  his  company, 
he  reluctantly  gave  the  order  for  an  immediate  advance, 
for  this  taunt  was  too  much  for  his  fiery  spirit. 

By  the  orders  of  St.  Leger,  who  knew  he  must  at  all  haz- 
ards prevent  any  defeat  at  this  juncture,  scouts  had  been 
placed  all  along  the  trail,  and  Joseph  Brant,  with  a  force 
of  picked  men,  had  taken  a  position  in  ambush  about  the 
semi-circular  ravine  by  the  Oriskany  Creek. 


57 

The  message  for  assistance  sent  Colonel  Gaiisevoort  at 
the  fort  eight  miles  away  had  not  been  replied  to.  The 
morning  was  hot  and  sultry  when,  at  10  o'clock,  the  force 
of  devoted  men  entered  the  fatal  ravine.  Suddenly  tho 
forest  rang  with  the  crack  of  rifles  and  the  war-whoop  of 
the  savage,  and  the  guards  both  front  and  rear  were  shot 
down  by  a  volley  which  seemed  to  come  out  from  every 
tree  of  the  forest.  The  fierce  Mohawks  sprang  from  their 
coverts  tomahawk  in  hand,  the  rear-guard  led  by  Colonel 
Fischer  was  cut  off  entirely,  most  of  the  force  being  taken 
prisoners  and  many  of  them  killed  on  the  spot.  By  the 
fatal  circle  formed  by  the  enemy,  the  baggage  and  ammu- 
nition wagons  were  also  cut  off  and  separated  from  the 
main  body.  General  Herkimer  fell  wounded  in  tho  early 
part  of  the  action,  a  ball  having  killed  his  horse  and  shat- 
tered his  leg  just  below  the  knee.  When  it  was  suggested 
he  should  be  removed  from  the  Held  ho  refused,  say- 
ing, "I  shall  face  the  enemy,"  and  his  saddle  being  placed 
at  the  foot  of  a  tree  he  sat  upon  it,  coolly  smoking  his  pipe 
while  he  gave  his  orders  with  telling  effect.  His  men 
standing  each  one  alone  behind  a  tree  would  fire  his  piece, 
and,  then,  before  he  could  reload,  the  watchful  savage 
would  immediately  rush  upon  him  with  the  tomahawk. 
Noting  this  manoeuvre,  the  wary  general  immediately  or- 
dered them  to  fight  in  couples,  so  that  when  the  enemy 
would  hurry  to  murder  the  one  who  had  just  fired  he  would 
be  shot  down  by  the  other. 

This  made  the  fray  more  terrible  for  the  foe,  though  the 

5 


58 

loss  of  the  patriots  was  severe  enough.  Colonel  Cox,  who 
had  that  morning  accused  General  Herkimer  of  cowardice, 
and  Captains  Davis  and  Van  Slnyck  were  killed,  and  the 
whole  patriot  force  was  terribly  broken  up. 

On  the  enemy's  side  the  Indians  had  become  disheart- 
ened by  the  loss  of  so  many  of  their  warriors,  and  the 
"  Johnson  Greens,"  a  body  of  men  from  the  Dutch  and 
German  settlements,  were  ordered  to  their  help.  The  con- 
flict now  became  fiercer  than  ever,  as  the  men  on  each  side 
recognized  one  another  as  neighbors,  kindred,  and  even 
brothers.  The  closer  the  relationship  the  more  deadly  the 
encounter.  There  were  no  British  soldiers,  Hessians,  or 
professional  fighters  there,  but  New  York  men,  children  of 
the  soil  almost  exclusively.  There  were  no  lines,  no  fort, 
no  artillery,  but  men  fighting  hand-to-hand  with  knife, 
musket,  spear,  hatchet,  foot-to-foot,  swaying  and  strug- 
gling over  the  bodies  of  the  dead  and  slipping  in  their 
blood.  The  vale  of  Oriskany  became  the  scene  of  the 
maddening  slaughter ;  neighbors  slew  their  neighbors,  and 
brothers  clasped  brothers  in  deadly  embrace.  Never,  even 
at  Thermopyla3,  did  men  stand  a  charge  with  more  daunt- 
less courage — a  courage  born  of  that  grand  spiritual  force 
which  had  made  liberty  to  their  ancestors  as  dear  as  life 
itself.  Three  men  charged  upon  Captain  Gardeuier,  so  his- 
tory tells  us,  who  transfixed  them  one  by  one  with  his  pike. 

Captain  Dillenback  also  being  attacked  by  a  party  beat 
one  to  the  ground,  shot  another,  and  bayoneted  a  third  be- 
fore he  fell  himself. 


59 

For  six  long  hours,  under  a  burning  sun,  without  even 
water  to  refresh  themselves,  this  battle  waged  without  ces- 
sation, except  when  a  severe  thunder-storm  came  down 
with  such  fury  that  the  combatants  were  compelled  to  seek 
shelter. 

At  length  firing  was  heard  in  the  distance  from  the  fort, 
— the  answer  to  the  long-delayed  message  of  Herkimer, — 
and  the  sound  was  as  welcome  to  the  patriots  as  it  was 
astounding  to  the  enemy.  Soon  Colonel  Willett,  with  his 
force,  appeared  on  the  field  of  battle.  The  Indians,  taking 
fright,  raised  the  cry  of  "Oonah"  (retreat)  and  fled  pre- 
cipitately ;  so  also  did  the  Tories  and  the  "Greens,"  amidst 
the  shouts  and  hurrahs  of  the  militia  of  Tryon  County, 
who  were  left  masters  of  the  field.  Colonel  Willett  cap- 
tured twenty-one  wagon-loads  of  baggage,  clothing,  and 
provisions,  and  five  British  flags,  which  he  bore  back  in 
triumph  underneath  the  folds  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes, — the 
flag  those  heroes  had  made  with  their  own  hands. 

A  descendant  of  one  of  those  who  fought  at  Saratoga 
said  to  the  writer :  "  It  was  fitting  that  this  battle  should 
be  the  occasion  for  the  first  raising  of  the  American  stand- 
ard in  victory.  If  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
the  inception  of  a  new  nation,  the  bloody  ravine  of  Oris- 
kany  was  the  place  of  its  birth." 

Colonel  Paris  was  captured  by  the  Indians  and  after- 
wards cruelly  murdered,  as  were  other  prisoners,  after  they 
reached  Colonel  Butler's  quarters.  Major  John  Frey,  of 
Colonel  Klock's  regiment,  was  wounded  and  taken  pris- 


60 

oner ;  his  own  brother,  who  was  in  the  British  service,  at- 
tempted to  take  his  life. 

Almost  every  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  and, 
in  fact,  every  prominent  man  in  the  Mohawk  Valley,  was 
killed.  Death  was  in  every  house.  After  the  battle,  Dr. 
Petrie,  one  of  the  survivors  of  the  Committee  of  Safety, 
though  himself  severely  woundod,  dressed  General  Herki- 
mer's  leg  and  saw  him  sent  on  a  litter  to  his  home.  It  was 
there  in  that  old  house,  which  is  still  standing,  as  I  am 
told  by  one  whose  ancestor  was  in  Colonel  Willett's  regi- 
ment, that  this  brave  Christian  soldier  died,  with  the  open 
Bible  in  his  hand.  He  died  not  from  the  wound  being 
fatal,  but  from  unskillful  amputation. 

The  number  of  the  Provincial  militia  in  killed  was  200, 
exclusive  of  wounded  and  prisoners,  and  the  loss  of  the 
enemy  was  equally  severe  if  not  greater,  especially  among 
the  Indians.  Neither  at  Waterloo  nor  Ansterlitz  was  the 
slaughter  greater  in  proportion. 

La  Fayette  once  declared  that  there  were  only  skirmishes, 
no  battles,  in  the  American  Revolution.  As  compared 
with  the  battles  in  Europe  this  is  true ;  but  with  the  meager 
population  of  our  country  in  1777  these  "skirmishes  "  had 
a  significance  equal  to  the  actions  at  Lodi,  Austerlitz, 
Leipsic,  and  Waterloo.  Colonel  Willett's  sally  from  the 
fort  with  200  men  and  50  more  to  guard  the  light  iron  three- 
pound  cannon  was  every  way  successful,  and  the  charge 
was  made  with  such  celerity  that  Sir  John  Johnson,  who 
was  in  his  tent  divested  of  his  coat,  had  no  time  to  even 


61 

put  it  cm  before  his  camp  was  attacked  and  his  force 
routed,  as  were  also  the  Indians  ;  and  all  Sir  John  John- 
son's baggage,  papers,  order-books,  etc.,  were  captured. 
For  this  exploit  Congress  presented  Colonel  Willett  with  a 
vote  of  thanks  and  an  elegant  sword. 

So,  also,  in  appreciation  of  the  great  services  rendered 
by  General  Herkimer,  Congress  requested  the  Governor 
and  Council  of  New  York  to  erect  a  monument  to  his 
memory,  but  this  was  not  done ;  but  the  State,  however, 
did  honor  to  itself  by  giving  his  name  to  one  of  the  coun- 
ties formed  out  of  the  division  of  Tryon  County. 

After  the  battle  Colonel  Samuel  Campbell,  then  senior 
officer,  reorganized  the  shattered  patriot  force  and  led 
them  in  good  order  back  to  Fort  Dayton. 

For  sixteen  days  St.  Leger  lay  before  Fort  Stauwix, 
which,  in  spite  of  peremptory  demands  and  many  lies, 
Colonel  Gansevoort  refused  to  surrender. 

Colonel  Willett,  at  tremendous  risks,  made  a  rapid 
march  to  Albany  to  obtain  relief,  which  through  Philip 
Schuyler's  effort  was  granted,  Benedict  Arnold  promptly 
offering  his  services,  and  on  August  20th,  with  800  volun- 
teers, the  latter  reached  Fort  Dayton,  and  issued,  as  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  the  Mohawk  Valley,  a  proclamation  denounc- 
ing St.  Leger  as  a  "leader  of  banditti,  robbers,  and  mur- 
derers." 

When  on  the  24th,  with  an  added  force  of  militia,  he 
arrived  at  Fort  Stanwix,  St.  Leger  had  raised  the  siege, 


62 

and  in  great  fear  of  his  Indian  allies,  who  had  already 
commenced  to  rob  his  camp,  he  fled,  leaving  his  tents, 
artillery,  and  stores  spoils  to  the  garrison.  His  men  threw 
away  their  packs  in  their  flight,  and  St.  Leger's  ront  was 
complete. 

And  so  this  key  to  the  heart  of  the  original  union,  this 
the  very  eye  of  the  campaign  of  1777,  was  held  secure  for 
the  patriot  cause. 

And  in  a  moral  sense  how  great  was  the  victory  when 
we  remember  that  the  threatened  and  almost  expected 
Tory  uprising  for  the  king  never  occurred,  and  instead 
disaffected  yeomanry  came  out  as  brave  patriots,  and  gave 
such  a  check  to  St.  Leger  as  forced  Burgoyne  to  take  the 
risk  which  brought  on  him  the  defeat  at  Beimington  and 
finally  his  surrender  at  Saratoga.  This  once  famous  gen- 
eral found  himself  in  a  sorry  dilemma.  He-had  been  sent 
to  America  by  a  new  ministry,  whose  existence  was  largely 
staked  upon  his  success.  Generals  Howe  and  Carleton 
had  been  superseded,  great  hopes  had  been  entertained  of 
his  success,  and  to  a  remarkable  degree  his  progress  from 
Canada  to  Saratoga  had  been  triumphal.  But  now  he  had 
been  effectually  circumvented  by  General  Schuyler.  West- 
ern New  York  was  lost,  his  troops  had  been  driven  from 
New  England,  and  his  only  chance  was  to  effect  a  union 
with  Sir  Henry  Clinton  at  Albany. 

We  all  know  the  result.  The  leaders  in  New  England 
were  jealous  of  General  Schuyler,  and  a  faction  in  Con- 
gress often  operated  prejudicially  to  the  American  cause. 


General  Gates,  a  rival  of  the  Commander-in-Chief,  was 
sent  to  supersede  the  brave  New  Yorker,  who  nevertheless 
remained  and  gave  what  assistance  he  might  to  his  suc- 
cessor. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  made  his  way  up  the  Hudson, 
burning  towns  on  his  route,  when  he  learned  of  the  capit- 
ulation at  Saratoga.  An  army  was  lost,  and  the  fact  be- 
came patent  that  now  only  artifice  and  diplomacy  could 
be  successful.  Pride  on  the  part  of  the  British  king  alone 
prolonged  the  contest,  but  the  convention  at  Saratoga  had 
assured  the  event. 

The  battle  of  Oriskauy  had  turned  the  scale.  While  the 
battle  of  Bennington  was  won  by  Yankees,  that  of  Oris- 
kany  by  Dutch  and  German  yeomanry,  the  militia  at  Sara- 
toga came  from  both  of  these  alike.  "  One  of  my  grand- 
fathers carried  his  musket  there  from  Worcester  County, 
Massachusetts,"  I  heard  one  of  Jersey's  patriots  say  ;  and 
almost  every  family  in  New  England  can  tell  a  like  story. 

Now  one  thing  seems  plain  to  us  all ;  a  greater  meed  of 
honor  is  due  than  has  yet  been  given  to  the  heroes  of  Ger- 
man Flats.  Reason  is,  they  have  always  been  a  clannish 
people,  often  speaking  a  different  language  and  disrelish- 
ing English  literature.  The  population  in  that  region  has 
been  in  too  great  a  degree  left  out  of  our  American  histo- 
ries. It  should  be  our  pride  as  Sous  of  the  Revolution  to 
see  that  this  fault,  if  it  exists,  is  corrected. 

Oriskany  was  Avell  named  in  the  Indian  tongue  the 
"  place  of  nettles."  Surely  out  of  these  nettles  of  danger 


brave  Nicholas  Herkiiner  plucked  the  Eose  of  Safety,  for 
not  only  the  Mohawk  Valley,  but  the  whole  nation.  In 
these  days  of  foreign  innovations  and  indifferentisin,  when 
party  spirit  strains  fierce  and  hard  upon  the  conscience 
and  free-will  of  the  citizen,  let  us,  the  sons  of  Kevolutiou- 
ary  sires,  stand  firm  in  the  faith^of  those  brave  Scotch, 
Dutch,  and  Huguenot  fathers,  and  maintain  to  the  utter- 
most and  ever  unimpaired  the  matchless  institutions 
which  they  have  handed  down  to  us. 


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